Another Reason To Believe
by J-Belle Emma
Summary: Ashley thought a simple one night stand would be nothing more than that, she realizes how wrong she was two and a half months later...
1. Positive! Surpise?

The constant feeling of being hung-over. Waking up in the early hours of the morning just to be sick. Feeling bloated and always tired. Craving peanut butter and chocolate.

It was late afternoon and Ashley was on her way to the drugstore in a bid to hopefully deter her niggling suspicion and find that maybe she just had the flu. She knew the chances were very slim but still there was a glimmer of hope that maybe, just maybe, she wasn't pregnant after all.

She entered the drugstore and went straight to the pregnancy tests. Her father was going to kill her if he found out that she even thought that she might be pregnant. Ashley had been living with her father for all of 3 months; he was not going to be happy to find that she had gotten herself knocked up within that short time.

Ashley grabbed the most respectable looking test and began to make her way to the counter to pay for it. She grabbed a packet of peanut M&Ms on her way, paid then made her way back to her car.

For a moment she sat in silence and took a deep breath, just staring at the paper bag, which contained the pregnancy test, in her hands. After a few more moments of contemplating whether she really wanted to know or not, she began to make the short drive back home.

When she finally reached the familiar old fenced off compound of her father's house Ashley sighed and shoved the test in her handbag. She made her way slowly toward the porch, a sinking feeling setting in.

Ashley's father greeted her at the front door with a smile and warm hug. "Hey honey, how was your day?" he asked kissing her forehead.

Ashley smiled and followed her father inside. She took off her scarf and coat as she replied. "Oh, you know the usual. And yourself?" she asked as she continued to follow her father into his kitchen, where she could smell a delicious roast chicken with sided vegetables cooking.

"The usual huh? And what exactly is _the usual_ for you lately? You've been too sick to hunt... Well I got a call from a couple 'a old friends of mine, they'll be dropping by tomorrow..." Ashley's father informed her with another smile as he looked at his daughter. Ashley knew he was so proud of her and loved to show her off to his friends, she also knew that given the current circumstances that would probably change and soon.

"Research Daddy, I was at the library looking up the few books that you don't actually have... Friends, huh? How come I haven't met them?" Ashley asked as her father began to set the food down. Ashley placed her handbag on the kitchen bench behind her before she sat down and joined her father eating the well cooked meal.

As they ate the pair continued their conversation. "Well, you haven't exactly been around much and they've been kind of busy with the apocalypse and all" Ashley's father replied. Ashley knew how much it hurt her father that she was never around, it hurt her too, that was why she had come back, now it seems like it'll be for good.

The rest of the food was eaten in silence. Not one thing disturbed either of them until the sudden feeling of her stomach dropping overcame Ashley and she made a run for the bathroom to be quite violently sick.

Ashley's father sighed and began to clean up after the meal. He was growing worried about his daughter, she had been sick for almost four weeks, it was a good thing that he was unaware of her feeling of being bloated or the fact that she was always tired, or the cravings that she had developed, or else he would probably share the same suspicions as his daughter.

After cleaning the dishes Ashley's father began to wipe down the benches. As he reached where Ashley had placed her handbag he attempted to carefully move it but his hand slipped and the contents of the bag spilt out onto the floor.

The old man bent over to pick up the spilled contents. "Lipstick, tampons, cell phone, compact, pregnancy test, M&Ms... Wait! Pregnancy test?" Ashley's father whispered to himself as he placed Ashley's things back in her bag.

He took the bag up to Ashley's room intending to confront her but instead he found her sound asleep on her bed. So peaceful, so innocent. He put the bag down on her desk and left, keeping the pregnancy test with him.

Ashley unexpectedly slept through the night and finally woke at a reasonable hour of the morning. Groggy, she rubbed her eyes and slowly woke to full alertness. She noticed her bag sitting on her desk and she walked over to it. She swallowed hard then opened it, as soon as she did she realized it was gone, the test was gone. She began running around her room frantically searching for the missing test.

Outside her room her father could hear her running through the floorboards. He slowly made his way up the stairs and stood outside Ashley's door. He gently knocked.

Ashley froze then looked toward her door, a pool of thoughts running through her head. Slowly she walked toward the door and opened it warily, feigning a smile. Her father however did not return the smile.

"Looking for this?" he asked holding up the pregnancy test. Ashley gasped and her body stiffened, he eyes darted between her father and the test, slowly one by one tears began to roll down Ashley's face.

"How?" she asked in reference to how her father had found the test she thought she had hidden.

"Have you taken one?" he asked ignoring her questioning and proceeding with his own interrogation. Ashley shook her head, her body now shaking. Her father handed her the packet and gestured for her to go to the bathroom. Ashley nodded shakily and complied.

The moment had come. Ashley's two minutes were up and now all she had to do was look at the test, but at the current moment that was proving too hard.

"Ash honey, it's been ten minutes. Are you okay in there?" her father asked from the other side of the door. Ashley opened the door, test in hand, and shook her head. She showed her father the test, positive. She began to break into a fit of uncontrollable sobs.

She didn't want to be pregnant, not now, the apocalypse was happening around her and she had no one to share this experience with, she was alone. She had thought about the possibility of an abortion but knew she would never be able to bring herself to go through with it. She also knew her father would hate that idea more than the idea of his only daughter being single and pregnant.

"When?" was the first thing her father could conjure together to ask her.

Ashley took a deep breath and readied herself to answer all the questions in the onslaught she knew she had coming.

"Umm, about two and half months ago now..." Ashley finally answered, her voice still shaking. She pushed her way out of the bathroom, made her slow descent to the kitchen and continued her explanation as she sat down.

"After I went to visit Blaine and caught him cheating on me. I stopped in at a bar on my way back here" Ashley finished looking down at her hands, it was completely out of character for her to do the whole 'one night stand' thing and she saw this pregnancy as proof of that.

"A BAR? Ashley, you know better than that! Who was he?" her father asked trying to calm himself, for his daughter's sake.

"Just a guy... He was flirting, I flirted back then next thing-" Ashley tried to explain herself but wasn't able to get very far.

"Why didn't you use protection? And why aren't you on the pill? I thought I taught you better than that!" her father pushed, his anger fuelled only by his overriding concern for his only daughter.

"Are you kidding me? Of course we used protection! And I haven't been on the pill since I was sixteen! It makes me sick..." Ashley rebutted, shocked that her father could even think that she would be stupid enough to not use protection with a stranger during what was supposed to be a one night thing.

"What's this guy's name?" Ashley's father asked in a quiet serious tone, bypassing any further arguing between the pair of them.

"Oh, like I can actually remember, dad! It was supposed to be nothing more than a-" Ashley began to argue again but was interrupted by a knocking at the door.

She watched her father make his way to the door. She knew he was only angry with her because he was worried about her but right now he should only be worrying about himself, after all he was only recently wheelchair bound.

Ashley stormed up the stairs and went for a long hot shower, hoping that maybe it would clear her mind. Unfortunately she had no such luck, after the shower she was still pregnant and alone, and the apocalypse was still looming.

Ashley let out a heavy sigh as she wrapped her towel around her and went to her room. She choose out a pair of tight jeans and a black tank top knowing she wouldn't be able to wear them for too much longer. For a moment she stared at herself in the mirror, she stood side on and placed her hand on her stomach. "Looks like we're in for a wild ride, little one" she whispered as she continued to stare at herself.

"Ash, come down and meet the friends I was telling you about yesterday!" she heard her father call from the bottom of the stairs, snapping her out of her transfixed stare.

Ashley opened her door then made her way slowly and quietly down the stairs. She could hear voices from the kitchen.

"Bobby you never told us you had a daughter" she heard one of the men state. She chuckled quietly to herself. Her father had promised her that he would never tell anyone of her existence for her safety and by the sound of it he hadn't.

"And I didn't know _Bobby_ had friends" Ashley rebutted as she rounded into the kitchen looking at her toes which she had recently painted hot pink.

"Boys, this is my daughter, Ashley Karen Singer" Bobby introduced as he led the guys over to her. "Ash, this is Sam Winchester..." Bobby began, Ashley finally looked up to give the extremely tall figure a smile and shake his hand, he looked vaguely familiar but she couldn't quite place him.

"Nice to meet you Sam" Ashley smiled and did her best to deter the feeling of familiarity that came from him as she shook his hand.

"And this idjit here is his older brother Dean" Bobby finished his part in the introduction the sat back and watched the trio interact.

At sight of Dean, Ashley froze and her eyes widened, and by the look of it Dean had done the same thing upon sight of Ashley. Ashley now knew exactly where she had seen the pair before but she kept her mouth closed. After a moment she shook her head slightly and extended her hand to Dean.

"Nice to meet you too, Dean" Ashley greeted without a smile as Dean warily took her hand. Ashley took a sudden step back and covered her nose. "You've been eating pie..." she stated with what sounded almost like disgust. She leant in again and quickly sniffed him then leant out swiftly and covered her nose again. "...Cherry pie...Excuse me" she whispered as she rushed to the bathroom.

Soon after the sound a flushing toilet echoed, then Ashley reappeared, her fingers clamped of her nose and a can of body spray in the other hand. She stepped up to Dean and sprayed him until she was satisfied that there was no possibility that he could smell like cherry pie any longer. She then entered the kitchen, dropping the can in the bin on her way to the table.

Ashley could hear Dean complaining and she couldn't help but laugh. "Dude, stop laughing! I'm gonna smell like chick for a week!" he complained as he hit his brother who was also laughing. Sam, Dean and Bobby entered the kitchen to Ashley reading a Guns and Ammo magazine.

She looked up from her magazine trying not to laugh. "Whoa, has anyone ever told you, you smell awfully feminine?" she asked as she waved her hand in front of her nose, gesturing that something could be smelt, and with that the room fell into another fit of laughter, except Dean who was mumbling what sounded like curses incoherently as he took a seat at the table. Eventually everyone was sitting at the table.

"So how do ya'll know each other?" Bobby asked with a heavy sigh in a tone that sounded almost defeated, it seemed that the Winchesters just knew everyone. Ashley's head shot up quickly.

"What?" she asked quickly wondering how it was exactly that her father could tell that they had been each met one and other before now. Ashley looked at her father and swallowed hard, when Bobby looked away she looked toward the Winchesters and shook her head. A smirk suddenly grew on Dean's face and Ashley glared at him, knowing whatever it was he had in store would not be good for her.

"Well Bobby, Sammy here met Ashley at a bar, and she had a few drinks with us" Dean informed still smirking slightly. So far he hadn't lied, but Ashley was wondering exactly how much Dean was going to divulge to Bobby.

Bobby looked to Ashley quickly and without looking away he spoke to which ever person was going to answer. "When?" was the only question he asked. Dean frowned slightly at Bobby's choice of question, he was hoping to lie and get Sam into a bit of trouble but it didn't seem like that was going to happen.

Ashley glared at Dean, just daring him to another word. Bobby's eyes were still fixated on his daughter as the room awaited the answer. "About two and half months ago?" Dean stated in more of a questioning tone, wondering why Bobby would care.

Ashley gasped, "Ashley" Bobby growled and Ashley swallowed hard.

"You idiot!" she yelled and jumped across the table in an attempt to throttle Dean. She was doing a fairly good job until Sam intervened and easily lifted Ashley from the top of Dean as she attempted to fight him and continue attacking Dean. Sam put her down and stood between them as Bobby wheeled his way up to Ashley.

"Which one?" Bobby asked bluntly not taking his eyes away from his still fuming daughter who hadn't stopped glaring at Dean yet.

Ashley took a deep breath and turned back to her father, "Neither" she lied looking away again as her father's eyes carved into her, he didn't believe her. Both boys frowned and wondered why she didn't just get Dean into trouble when she had the chance, both knew she was fuming and at the moment seemed to hate him, if it was either of them they would have taken the opportunity.

"WHICH ONE?" he repeated, louder and more intimidating this time.

"NEITHER!" Ashley shouted back at her father, even louder than he had yelled at her.

"Go to your room" he spoke now calmly but still his eyes burned into hers.

"Excuse me? I'm 25 years old! I'm not going to my room!" she screamed back at him, leaning down to get closer to his face, in disbelief, he had never been so angry at her and she had never been so annoyed at him.

"You're living under my roof, you do as I say!" he shouted, moving his face closer to seem more intimidating.

"Well maybe I'll just move out again! How about that?" she rebutted, she saw the hurt in her father's eyes and his mouth drop slightly then she leant back, pushed past both Winchesters and stormed up to her room and slammed her door. Ashley flopped on her bed and began crying, she knew her father wouldn't tell either of them that she was pregnant if he thought that either could be the father but she knew he would continue trying to squeeze it out of them and for Dean's sake Ashley hoped that they would both keep quiet.


	2. Friends First

Bobby watched as Ashley stormed away. What she had said had hurt him but he had to put that behind and drill the Winchesters to find out which one of them was his daughter's baby daddy.

"So, boys I suggest you tell me 'cause I'm sure as hell not going let you off with anything like Ashley got off with" Bobby threatened keeping his focuses on Sam, knowing it was more likely that he would break unless in fact he was the one who had slept with Ashley, in that case Dean would be most likely to crack.

"Well, which one of you is gonna confess or am I gonna have to do this the hard way, hmm?" Bobby asked eying up both Winchesters who stood perfectly still and avoided eye contact with the pissed off wheel chair bound man.

Bobby had a suspicion on who it was that had, in his eyes, violated his baby girl but he wanted to hear from either one of them or his daughter. Sam and Dean both look to each other. Sam could see a glimmer of fear hid behind Dean's eyes, Bobby was going to kill him there was no doubt about it.

After looking to his brother Sam looked back to Bobby, "Uh, it was me Bobby..." Sam falsely confessed shifting his weight through the discomfort he now felt seeing the older man's icy glare carving into him. Bobby began to advance on Sam who continued to move further back.

"No Bobby it was me!" Dean confessed in an attempt to stop his baby brother from being slaughtered in his defence by the man they consider to be like a father to them. Bobby's eyebrows rose and he looked over to Dean.

"No Dean! It was me Bobby, I swear!" Sam countered, trying to give Dean time to get away or run or anything of that nature.

"Boys stop jerking me around!" Bobby shouted as he began to advance between the pair, more so toward Sam. He was no longer sure that it was Dean, after Sam's sudden confession he didn't know which to believe.

"Daddy, stop it!" Ashley called from the kitchen door way. Her father turned toward her and she looked up at both Winchesters in turn. First Sam, who looked like he may have actually crapped himself, then Dean, who pleaded with his eyes. Ashley was sure that her father would give Dean nothing but a good talking to, but it didn't make her feel any better about what she was going to do.

"Leave Sam alone" she whispered staring down at the floor. She heard her father's wheelchair turn around again and begin to slowly move in the opposite direction. He wasn't headed toward her or either of the Winchesters. Ashley looked up to see her father headed for the cupboard then grabbing out a bottle of whiskey and a glass. She then watched her father skull half of the bottle.

"Dad!" she shouted and pulled the bottle out of his hand, replaced the lid then hid the whiskey in the top cupboard where she knew he couldn't reach. "Drinking is not the answer... Ever... I thought you may have learnt that after my little story this morning..." Ashley stated, "I mean that's how we ended up here..." she offered, her father's chest began to rise and fall at a faster pace.

"DEAN!" he yelled and turned his chair, he began advancing again but Ashley grabbed his chair.

"DAD! Why don't we all sit down and do the _mature_, oh who am I kidding, _girly_ thing and talk about it..." Ashley offered and rolled her father's chair to the table then locked it; she gestured for Dean to sit down then looked to Sam. "Well Sam, you have the right to either run or take a chair..." she half smiled then sat down herself in the seat across from Dean, next to her father. Sam took the seat next to Dean then everyone looked to Bobby.

"Well are you gonna tell him?" Bobby asked looking at his daughter expectantly.

"What? NO! Not until I figure out what I'm doing... there's no need to screw up his life as well!" Ashley rebutted in a whisper to avoid either of the brother's hearing. "Okay, well, what's done is done and it's in the past... agreed?" Ashley asked hoping to put it behind them.

"How'd it happen?" Bobby asked trying to keep himself in check and not have another outburst again.

"Wait, you wanna know details?" Dean asked sounding slightly disgusted that Bobby would want to know what went down between Dean and his daughter.

"Not those kind of details ya idjit!" Bobby countered angrily and went to say more but Ashley stopped him.

"He means in the bar, Dean!" Ashley yelled at Dean who now looked slightly embarrassed at his sudden assumption.

"No, I want to know how you ended up in the bar as well..." Bobby informed Ashley with a look that told her that it wasn't an option and that he didn't completely believe the story she had fed him earlier.

"Okay... We'll start with that then shall we...?" Ashley suggested looking away from her father. "I was on my way back from visiting Blaine in South Carolina, after breaking it off with him..." Ashley began, pausing to swallow and try to keep the images of him in bed with her best friend.

"Why?" Dean let slip before he could stop himself. Ashley looked up to him with a curious expression that matched Dean's. "Why did you break it off with him?" Dean asked slightly more confidently the second time, Sam kicked Dean's leg gesturing for him to stop.

"Why did I break it off with him? Because I caught the bastard in bed with my best friend..." Ashley answered simply yet harshly. "Anyway, I just happened to decide to stop in Illinois on my way... Sort of like a half way..." Ashley explained then looked toward her father to see whether he was satisfied with that, it seemed he was.

"And you boys had just finished a case... Okay so now we're at the bar..." Bobby filled in the prompted for them to continue.

"Well anyway, we walked into the bar. Sam went to grab a booth and I went to get a couple of beers... Ashley was sitting at the bar, she hadn't been served yet but the bar tender came to me first and I got three beers gave one to her then went back to Sam... It was to let her simmer a little but when I got back to the table and pointed her out to Sam he went and walked up to her" Dean began his side of the explanation, he looked at his brother to continue.

"Well yeah, I had recognised Ashley; we had gone to school together for about a month when I was in twelfth grade and she was the only person who even spoke to me. So I went over and invited her to come over and sit with Dean and me" Sam finished with a small smile which was quickly erased when he looked at Bobby.

Ashley rolled her eyes, "When Sam had walked in I knew he seemed sort of familiar but I couldn't place him, when he came over and gave me hug I completely remembered so I accepted his invitation to come sit with him and his brother" Ashley added her part in then looked to one of the guys to continue, truth be told that night was a little hazy for her and by the look of determination to remember on Dean's face the night wasn't exactly clear for him either.

Sam laughed and shook his head. "After the first round of beers we went onto more beers sided with whiskey shots, after awhile I left knowing that my hangover would be bad enough without adding more alcohol to it. When I was leaving this pair had ditched the beers and were doing shots" Sam finished trying to speak as seriously as he could, remembering that Ashley was winning the shot line as he left.

"Okay, well by this time I was pissed but I was still drinking. I looked at the time, can't even remember what it was now but I needed to be getting to sleep so I could catch an early rise in the morning. So I told Dean I had to go and well he gave me a kiss goodnight but it didn't end at one. Next thing I knew we were outside of the bar and on the way to the motel across the road..." Ashley finished avoiding her father's gaze and staring into Dean's eyes and he was staring back.

"She was gone before I woke up the next morning" Dean added not breaking the gaze he and Ashley were sharing.

"I stole your key and left Sam a note" Ashley smiled as she remembered what she had done, "And the rest of your clothes..." she whispered.

Dean shook his head and couldn't help but smirk, he dropped his head to look at the table and Ashley looked to her father who was now looking at Dean. "Well it can't have been that great; she couldn't even remember your name this morning..." Bobby spat harshly.

Ashley's jaw dropped and she stared at her father. Dean raised an eyebrow, "Why would she need to remember my name this morning? Cause she didn't have any trouble remembering when I had her screaming it..." Dean asked eying up both father and daughter then added the cheeky remark while his eyes stayed planted on Ashley, whose jaw dropped.

Bobby growled slightly and Ashley grabbed his chair again but kept her jaw dropped and continued to stare at Dean. Sam cleared his throat obviously uncomfortable with where the conversation had headed.

"DEAN! Uh, I had a little confession this morning..." Ashley tried to quickly make up and excuse that sounded even vaguely viable.

"Did you use protection?" Bobby growled, hoping for his daughter's sake that she hadn't lied to him about that.

"Of course! I'm not gonna go try and get a stranger pregnant" Dean said with a chuckle. Both Ashley and Bobby froze that he used the most stupid explanation he used, especially considering the situation he didn't even know he was in yet.

Ashley had to try and deter everyone's attention from what Dean had just stupidly said. "Daddy I didn't lie to you about that!" Ashley shouted and looked at her father who was still glaring at Dean.

"I don't think you boys should stay tonight" Bobby whispered aiming his statement mainly at Dean but he still included Sam in it.

"Dad, there are two free guest rooms... Do you really think I would go and do it again? I'm already in as much trouble as I can be when it comes to that..." Ashley whispered attempting to avoid the boys hearing her.

"No Ashley, it's okay, if Bobby would prefer we leave, we'll leave" Dean offered standing and his brother following his lead.

"No! Dad, like you said, they're your friends... I'll camp outside... You can put a padlock on my door... I'll sleep in the freaking panic room!" Ashley ended yelling, pushing her father to get the point that she wasn't letting them pay to go to a dingy motel when they could just as easily stay with them.

"Fine, but if I find out there's been any funny business you boys won't be welcome back here when Ashley's here" Bobby finally agreed then looked to see if Ashley was satisfied with his answer, she had a content smile on her face.

"Yes sir" Both Sam and Dean agreed with Bobby's condition.

After agreeing with his daughter, Bobby rolled toward the doorway of the kitchen then turned himself around, "Ashley can I speak to you for a moment... Alone" he asked then continued to roll into his study.

"Yes Daddy?" Ashley asked as she followed him into the study and sat down in the couch that was placed across from his desk.

"Are you gonna tell the boy? He has a right to know" Bobby spoke calmly as he nonchalantly flipped through one of the books he had laying on his desk.

"I know he has the right to know Daddy but... Shouldn't we try and be friends, or at least be on speaking terms, before I tell him he is gonna to be a father to the child that I'm carrying?" Ashley asked her father honestly, trying to convince herself that that was the right thing for her to do.

Bobby sighed, "I suppose your right... But do something for me... Tell him before you start showing, tell him not force him to find out, cause it may not seem like it, but those boys are like the sons I never had" Bobby said making Ashley promise that she would comply and she nodded then gave her father a hug.

"I promise, Daddy. Guess that means I got a month, maybe a month and a half. Well I better start getting to know some Winchesters huh?" Ashley smiled, trying to sound cheery but truth was she was more scared about telling Dean that she was having his child than she was about actually having the child and boy was she scared about that.

Ashley came out of the study to see Sam and Dean play fighting over the TV remote. She smiled then came up behind them and leant on the couch. "So what are the choices?" Ashley asked, intending to choose the better show out of the two.

"Dr Sexy MD or..." Dean began but before he could finish Ashley jumped over the back of the couch.

"Dr Sexy MD's on?" she asked grabbing the remote, switching it to the right channel then laying herself out across Sam and Dean. "I can't believe last week Shannon and Nicholas got together, and Nicholas is actually the father to Shannon's illegitimate twin sister, Penny's, unborn child!" Ashley relayed the content of the previous show.

"Didn't Penny tell Bradley he was the father?" Dean asked remembering the last thing he had seen. Sam looked at both of them and shook his head with a chuckle.

"No, well yeah, but she only said that to get back at Kate for sleeping with Nathan who is apparently Shannon's long lost drug addict husband, duh" Ashley replied, ignoring Sam and engrossing herself with in the show.

Ashley had her legs lying across Dean and her head on Sam's lap; neither of them seemed to mind too much. Something of Ashley's interest happened on the show and she flipped up and changed her position so she now sat in between the brothers. The show finally finished and Ashley was gobsmacked.

"I can't believe that Penny's having twins and one is Nicholas's and the other is her illegitimate twin sister, Shannon's, drug addict husband Nathan's!" Ashley stated her disbelief then stood up satisfied that she was able to watch the show without needing to be sick.

"I'm hungry... I feel like strawberries" Ashley muttered to herself as she left the room and re-entered the kitchen. "Are you guys hungry? There's left over chicken and vegetables that I can actually stand the smell of!" she called to the Winchesters.

"Dr Sexy MD then food, I can see why we hit it off so well!" Dean whispered excitedly to Sam as the pair made their way back to the kitchen for food. Sam shook his head and chuckled at his brother once again.


	3. Submission

Bobby had decided to keep to himself for the rest of the day, so he kept hidden away behind a pile of books in his study. However he still kept an ear out to ensure that no _funny business_ was going on. Most of the time he heard nothing but laughing and the occasional slapping sound then Dean feigning hurt followed by more laughing, when he heard that Bobby himself would let out a little chuckle, roll his eyes and shake his head.

Ashley sat red faced; Dean had brought up the time they had spent together previously again. He found it funny how embarrassed he could make her by simply mentioning the fact that they had barely made it to the motel before things really heated up between them.

"Dean, shut up! Sam doesn't wanna hear it and I'm not sure I do either!" Ashley laughed, trying to sound as though she was joking but she couldn't hide the hint of seriousness that coated each of her words.

"Hey there are worse things that I could tell him..." Dean rebutted a cheeky smirk playing on his lips.

"And there are a lot of things I could say that I'm sure you wouldn't" Ashley offered with an eyebrow raised and a considerably evil grin. Dean's smirk slowly faded as he tried to decipher whether she would go there or not. He decided it was best not to risk it considering this same girl had attacked him this morning and he wasn't quite ready to test her limits again just yet.

"Either way..." Ashley smiled with a shrug. "When are you guys planning to head out again on another hunt? If you have another already setup that is..." Ashley asked changing the subject and breaking the silence that had began to close in on the trio.

"Well, we'll probably stay another day but we did get a call from an old babysitter of ours complaining about some kind of poltergeist form of supernatural activity over in Housatonic Massachusetts" Dean explained sounding quite serious and business like.

Ashley suddenly cracked up laughing, "You get so serious when you talk about hunting... It's cute!" Ashley kept giggling and Dean raised an eyebrow then looked to Sam who shrugged.

Ashley exhaled then caught her breath, "Whoo, sorry. So, Massachusetts huh? It's nice on the coast this time of year and its beautiful inland..." Ashley sighed and gazed out the window into the dreary rain as she reminisced about when she had lived on the coast.

"But it's freezing!" Sam rebutted with a look of slight confusion on his face.

Ashley gave him a sad smile, "That just adds to the beauty of it Sam. Cold winter nights cuddling up in front of the fire with a nice cup of hot chocolate and marshmallows, listening to the sound of the waves as they crashed along the shoreline. Then waking up in the morning and everything is shining, either from the snow fall or just the morning dew. There's no place I'd rather be..." Ashley explained, whispering for the last part. She missed the coast life dearly but she was willing to give it up for her father.

"Why don't you go back?" Dean asked eying Ashley as a lone tear slid down her face, Sam kicked him and frowned.

She quickly wiped the tear away and snapped out of her daydream like state, "Well Dad wants me here and I really missed him in South Carolina, not to mention I'm going to need all the help I can get with this-" Ashley froze, she had only just stopped herself short before she revealed too much. She then tried to rethink her choice of words. "Uh..." she attempted to continue but her mind had gone blank.

Sam could see Ashley struggling and he wasn't quite sure as to why but he thought he should help her out. He glanced between a struggling Ashley and a suspicious Dean before speaking up. "Training... she needs further help in training" he quickly spat out.

Ashley looked over to Sam shocked. Did he know? He couldn't! Ashley quickly decided to take on Sam's idea before Dean became too suspicious to believe her. "Yeah, training, exactly! I wanted Dad to help me with further... training" Ashley lied hoping Dean would buy it.

Dean glanced between Ashley and his brother, after Ashley's pause and then Sam helping her out he didn't buy one bar of her story but he decided to go along with it for now and avoiding causing a stir, after all he could find out later preferably when Ashley wasn't within hearing distance. "So training huh? With hunting? Like basic survival, weapons or research?" Dean asked doing his best to feign that he believed Ashley's story.

Ashley's eyes widened and she looked up at Sam before turning back to Dean and answering him. "A little of this, a little of that... Shooting and hand-to-hand combat mostly" Ashley replied quickly, choosing two random hunting topics off the top of her head. Truth was Ashley did need to learn a bit more when it came to fighting without a weapon but when it came to shooting Ashley could outshoot her father and many of his fellow hunters.

Dean nodded slowly, "Hmm okay, maybe Sammy and I can help you out a bit with that" Dean offered as he stood and made his way to the kitchen to grab a beer. When he returned he passed a beer to Sam and placed one in front of Ashley then sat back and began drinking his beer as Sam did the same.

Ashley eyed the beer for long moment before lifting it just close enough for her to be able to smell it that was enough for her to drop it and run for the bathroom again.

Ashley washed herself up then stood and stared at her reflection in the mirror. She cupped her hands and watched them fill with water then threw the ice cold water in her face. This secret of hers was already growing hard for her to keep and it hadn't even been a whole 24 hours since she had found out herself.

A light knock on the door woke Ashley from her intense stare. "Ash, you okay in there?" she heard Sam's voice through the door. She remembered the last time she had been in the bathroom earlier that morning and her father had asked her that exact question.

Unlike the last time Ashley feigned a smile and opened the door to see Sam, Dean and Bobby, "Yeah I'm okay, though I don't think I'll be having any beer anytime soon after that..." she replied as she began walking back to the living room, avoiding making eye contact with either of the Winchesters, especially Dean. "I don't think I'll be going anywhere near beer for a while though..." Ashley added with a chuckle as sat down on the couch again.

"You were drinking?" Bobby asked with a disapproving look, not saying anymore than he knew was appropriate.

Ashley just glared at her father. "No, the beer didn't even touch my lips... Quite a waste really" Ashley mused as she began nonchalantly flicking channels to avoid any further unwanted or potentially secret spilling conversation. Not another word was shared as Bobby went back to his study and both Dean and Sam sat back down again.

The afternoon slowly became night, not one person had moved from the spot in which they sat and the awkward forced silence still hung within the room. The food had been eaten in silence, this time Ashley's stomach hadn't reacted to the food she had eaten and for that she was thankful. Time had passed rather quickly and before Ashley knew it she was waking up on the couch at two in the morning.

Ashley rubbed her back as she sat up; the television was off and so was all but one light that radiated from her father's study. She stood slowly then quietly walked over and stood in the doorway of the study, smiling to herself when she saw Sam asleep with his head in an open book.

Ashley walked over to him carefully, avoiding the various piles of books and such. "Sam, Sammy wake up..." she whispered and carefully touched his arm. Sam sat sharply looking disorientated, Ashley jumped back slightly but smiled again as she watched Sam remember what he was doing before he had been overcome by sleep. "You always were into books weren't you?" Ashley cited when Sam returned her smile.

"Yeah, uh what time is it?" he asked looking for a clock but coming up short.

"Too early to be awake or sleeping in a sitting position..." Ashley replied and shook her head. "You should go to bed, there's one made up for you upstairs" she added as she began to leave the room.

"What about you? Aren't you going to go to bed?" Sam asked still sleepy but alert enough to notice that she was heading the opposite way to the stairs.

Ashley side smiled again, she had forgotten how observant Sam was. "I'll go to bed soon enough, I was just going out front for some fresh air, you're welcome to join but you look tired" Ash offered half hoping he would just reject her offer and go to bed.

Sam could tell by the way Ashley had added the last comment that she didn't want him to join her but he decided to ignore it, he wanted to get to the bottom of the real reason she was had left her so desired coast life to be in South Dakota. "Actually, I may join you for a moment, I'm awake anyway" Sam accepted with an innocent smile.

Ashley continued her way onto the front porch with Sam following close behind. She sat down in one of the old cane chairs, Sam did the same. A moment went by filled with silence; Ashley knew it wouldn't last much longer because Sam had done the exact same thing when he told her that he had to leave when he left her school.

"So-" Sam began but was unable to say more than that.

"Sam, stop procrastinating! If you've got something to say, please, just say it!" Ashley spoke firmly as she turned to Sam to look him in the face, showing him she was ready to receive whatever it was that he wanted to send her way.

Sam hung his head, he had forgotten about talking to her in this way before. "Why are you really staying here Ash? I know it's not training, _I_ made that up..." Sam asked hoping for her to finally break the silence she had been giving both him and his brother all afternoon by hopefully tell him the truth.

Ashley looked away, now avoiding Sam's eyes, "I'm here for dad..." she whispered, "I missed him and there is really nothing for me back in South Carolina anymore..." she continued, her eyes planted firmly on the familiar black Impala parked in front of the porch.

"There's more to it, I can tell... You said you were going to need all the help you can get... With what? Are you sick? Oh my god Ash..." Sam began jumping to conclusions; he wrapped his arms around Ashley and pulled her into a hug.

"Sam, it's nothing like that. Sam! I can't breathe here!" Ashley called attempting to get Sam to let go, which he did after another moment. "It's nothing life threatening really, life changing for sure but I'll get through it..." Ashley explained, trying hard not to let on too much of the truth.

"Wait, Ashley..." Sam spoke suddenly, beginning to catch on. "The throwing up, the random cravings for strawberries or peanut butter dipped chocolate bars, the staying away from beer and then falling asleep on the couch at nine thirty... Ashley, are you...?" Sam couldn't even finish his sentence.

Ashley paused, she had definitely underestimated Sam. She nodded gradually, a tear slowly falling down her delicate face. She couldn't say a word, the sobs had gotten caught in her throat and she wanted to keep it that way.

"How long have you known?" Sam asked hoping that that question would be the least hard to answer.

"I'd had my suspicions for awhile, found out for sure the morning just before you and Dean arrived..." Ashley answered quietly, not quite believing that she was just spilling it all to Sam without even trying to stop herself.

"How far along are you?" Sam asked, his eyes subconsciously finding their way straight to her stomach.

Ashley cleared her throat, "Two-and-a-half-months" she whispered really fast, far too quickly for Sam to hear her properly.

"What?" Sam asked hoping that Ashley would repeat herself a little slower this time.

"Two and a half months, Sam!" Ashley snapped at him harshly though her voice still not above a whisper. "Sorry... Just a little stressful you know?" Ashley apologized almost immediately.

Sam nodded slowly, processing the information. Ashley was two and a half months pregnant, He hadn't seen her in... Two and a half months, which meant that she and Dean... "Ashley, is the baby Dean's?" he asked cautiously, his hands together touching the tip of his nose as he side glanced at her. "Ashley?" he asked again after her silence.

Ashley sighed, "Yes, but Sam you can't tell him! You can't okay? It's something I have to do and I _will_ do it, I just don't know when..." Ashley raised her voice, not loud enough to wake anyone but loud enough to get the point across to him that he wasn't to tell Dean. Ashley then burst into tears and instinctively Sam hugged her and held her close hopeful that it would bring her some kind of comfort.

The pair sat in the same position for almost ten minutes before Ashley pulled away, "Okay, umm, I think I'm going to go to bed now... Goodnight, well morning, Sammy" she whispered as she returned back inside then retreated to her room. Sam followed her in, both stood outside their respective bedroom doors.

"Ash, if you ever need to talk, I'm here okay?" Sam offered before opening his door. Ashley nodded with the best smile she could muster, which seemed more like a grimace, as she opened her own door and entered her room.

As Ashley lay down on her bed, after two and a half months, she finally let herself think back to that night, the night that had gotten her pregnant. Thinking back she would have been surprised if she hadn't gotten pregnant, it was one of _those_ nights. They had started on the desk then fallen on to the carpeted floor then again in the bed and another time on the bathroom sink then in the shower then once more in the bed again and each time without fail he had her calling his name. Ashley smiled thinking back, to tell the truth she would probably say that it was the best night of her life by far, even if she did end up pregnant afterward. Ashley fell asleep again with the smile on her face.

Unbeknownst to Ashley, Dean had been lying awake in his bed for awhile; he had known that Sam and Ashley had had a conversation, especially after what Sam had said in the hallway, he didn't know what it was about but he couldn't help but feel a pang of jealousy that Sam always got along with girls so well. Of course Dean himself could bag any girl in a bar for a night, but Sam could make relationships with the way he got along with them.

Dean found comfort in the fact that he had spent a night with Ashley and could still talk to her, whereas Sam hadn't had that kind of relationship with her. Dean began to think back to that night, for what felt like the hundredth time since he had gone to bed. It was true that he had Ashley screaming whenever he could but something he would never admit was that she had him pretty much doing the same thing.


	4. Maybe Next Time

Ashley had tossed and turned for the rest of the time that she had slept. She found herself up at six cooking bacon and pancakes, she had tried to do eggs as well but her stomach disagreed with that idea. She hummed along to the music that was softly flowing from the radio beside her as she let the delicious smell of a well cooked breakfast waft through the kitchen. Before the bacon had even finished cooking Dean was standing in the entrance to the kitchen in a white shirt and boxers, the smell of the bacon had lured him out of bed, a little too early for his own liking, but who was he to complain it meant he could eat.

Dean stood and just watched as Ashley floated around the kitchen, unaware of his presence. Ashley placed the bacon on four plates beside stacks of pancakes then turned to face the doorway, intending to call the three men to breakfast, instead she found Dean standing in the doorway watching her. She gasped and jumped back slightly at Dean's unexpected appearance.

"Dean, what are you doing up so early voluntarily?" Ashley asked as she slowly un-tensed and continued her way toward Dean, on the way to the stairs. Before she was even able to get near, let alone through, the doorway Dean stopped her. "Dean move..." Ashley demanded in no more than a sharp whisper, still attempting to get around him with her eyes still avoiding his by staring at the floor.

"Ashley is there something wrong?" Dean asked bluntly. Ashley stayed silent, continuing to try and get Dean out of her way, without hurting herself or Dean. Dean shook his head, "You won't look me in the eye and you have avoided any kind of interaction with me yesterday afternoon, after you..." he began as he watched Ashley begin to squirm and move faster as she kept trying to push past him. He gently caught her wrist and held it until she stopped moving.

"Dean, get out of my way!" she hissed, stomped her foot like she was throwing a tantrum then stood completely still, keeping her head straight and her gaze not moving from the fabric covering Dean's chest. Truth was that Ashley was scared to look Dean in the eye; she wasn't ready to tell him everything, she had crumbled completely the moment she gazed into Sam's eyes and she was scared that if she looked at Dean it would happen again. "Dean, please..." Ashley begged quietly, sounding more like a sob then a request.

"Ashley, just tell me what's going on..." Dean continued, his voice now as low as hers, trying not to sound at all intimidating but more concerned than anything else.

"What's going on?" Sam asked walking up behind Dean, still wearing the clothes he was in yesterday, that he had obviously slept in, to see what looked to be a quarrel between the pair. Dean let his gentle grip on Ashley's arm go then he turned to Sam and watched as Ashley, without hesitation, ran out the front door. "Dean what'd you do?" Sam asked as his line of sight turned from seeing Ashley run out the door to seeing his brother still staring at the door.

Dean shrugged, "I just asked her what her problem is..." Dean replied innocently, his eyes still hadn't found their way from the door back to his brother.

Sam's eyes widened at his brother, he could tell Ashley hadn't told Dean yet but she still must have been pretty shaken up to run out the door. "Shit..." Sam whispered as he followed Ashley's lead and ran out the door. Sam stood on the porch and looked around to see if he could see Ashley. After searching around the front yard of the compound Sam eventually found Ashley sitting in the dirt by the driver's side door of her car.

Dean stood on the porch and watched Sam comfort Ashley with a hug as he sat next to her, his arm still draped over her, and began talking about who knows what. He hated to admit it but Dean was growing jealous of whatever it was the Sam and Ashley had between them because whatever he had with Ashley didn't even seem to compare to what she had with Sam. Dean wanted for Ashley to see him in the same way she saw Sam but it was becoming slowly more obvious that that was not going to happen. Dean let out a heavy sigh and returned inside.

"Hey Ash, shhh" Sam cooed to her, almost as though he was talking to a baby, as he held her in a tight hug and let her cry into his chest just a little longer. "What happened? What made you run away? Did Dean hurt you?" Sam fired a quick shot of questions at Ashley before she covered his mouth with her hand and looked up at him with still watering eyes.

"Dean did nothing... I think he was trying to be nice actually... Either that or nosy... I can't listen to him being nice, it makes me feel bad..." Ashley replied to Sam as she slowly uncovered his mouth. "He was asking me what my problem was, in nicer words... Sam I think I gotta tell him, sooner rather than later... I know I do but I just don't know if I'm ready for that kind of rejection..." Ashley began to ramble on but Sam stopped her.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa..." Sam stopped her, holding her at arm's length as he continued. "What makes you think that Dean would reject you when it comes to something like this? I know he can be a dick sometimes but I'm fairly sure he would never..." Sam tried to reassure Ashley before pausing, an idea forming in his head. "Me and Bobby will go out to get the food tonight... How does that sound?" Sam asked quickly.

Despite the fear she had about what Sam was obviously suggesting Ashley nodded slowly, "Okay... I'll tell Dean tonight..." Ashley agreed, a slight hint of confidence being forced into her voice, she seemed to be telling more herself than Sam.

"Hey and remember, no matter what happens, I'll be here for you and so will your dad..." Sam offered in a comforting voice as he gave Ashley a small smile and rubbed her back a little. Without warning the front door flew open and Dean came out carrying two heavy looking duffel bags.

"Sam, we're leaving!" Dean called as he chucked the things in the trunk of the Impala then returned to the house for what looked like yet another duffel bag.

"Wait, Dean, what?" Sam asked as he intercepted his brother's path to the car, he looked over to Ashley who was now standing vigilantly staring at the brother's before her. "We can't just leave man..." Sam offered but Dean pushed past and continued to the car again. After placing the final duffel bag in the trunk Dean closed it and leant against the side of his car then turned to see Bobby, Ashley and Sam standing on the porch.

Sam said his goodbyes to Ashley first and gave her a big bear hug then moved on to saying his goodbyes to Bobby. While Sam was saying goodbye to Bobby, Ashley walked over to Dean and without a word she hugged him fairly tightly. At first Dean wasn't sure what to do; he looked over to Sam and Bobby quickly then pushed off the car and hugged her back.

After a long moment Ashley pulled away and looked Dean in the eye, "I have to talk to you when you get back... I think I owe you some kind of explanation..." Ashley whispered, her eyes didn't leave Dean's, she looked as if she was about to cry but she wouldn't let herself. "...Be careful Dean" she continued to whisper with a small forced smile, then turned away from him and walked back to her father.

Ashley was both pleased and disheartened about the fact that Dean had so suddenly decided that he and Sam were going to take off. On the bright side it gave her more time before she had to tell him, on the down side there was always that chance that he wouldn't make it back for her to even tell him at all.

Dean was slightly taken aback by the sudden affection Ashley had just shown toward him, he wasn't sure what to think of it, whether he should take it as a 'happy you're leaving' hug or an 'I'll miss' hug or even just one of the friendly 'Be safe' hug. He stood contemplating it for a moment, a moment too long he began to think to himself.

"Dean, you coming?" Sam called from inside the car as he leant across the leather seat to look at his brother through the closed glass window. The sound of Sam's voice snapped Dean out of the daze he was temporarily in and he got into the car. "Dean, are you okay? Changed your mind about leaving?" Sam asked with concern and hope that maybe that would be the case and Ashley would be able to tell him tonight after all.

"I'm fine" Dean rebutted quickly and without another word he closed his door then started the car. The Impala came to life with a low rumble, as usual.

"You come back straight after this hunt, ya hear?" Bobby shouted from the porch, for his daughter's sake he wanted to add, mainly focusing his request at Dean who frowned slightly. Asking the boys to come back as soon as they had finished a hunt was an unusual request for Bobby to make.

"We will Bobby!" Sam called in reply out the opened window as the low rumble of the Impala became more apparent. Dean put his foot down and with that the car peeled sleekly out of the driveway and Dean turned down the long stretch of road headed for Housatonic, Massachusetts.

Ashley gave a small nod as she watched the classic black car containing her old friend and her oblivious baby daddy disappear out of the compound, she turned and went back to the kitchen. She threw the food she had made for Sam and Dean in the bin before sitting down to her own meal in complete silence.

Bobby soon joined his daughter, she looked both distraught and slightly relieved, he knew the relief must have come from Dean's departure.

"What made him want to leave so soon?" Ashley asked in a whisper as she took another bite out of her pancakes. She looked up at her father who looked rather concerned, "I just... Wanna know" she added as if she felt the need to justify herself.

Bobby frowned and sighed, "I don't know, I got up to find Dean carrying bags out, he wouldn't tell me what was going on... Did something happen?" Bobby asked as he finished off his breakfast.

Ashley continued to play with her food, "...I was going to tell him tonight..." she whispered, "He tried asking me earlier but I ran out on him, Sam followed then we suddenly saw Dean packing up to head out..." she explained before sighing. "You know, I'm not so hungry, I'm gonna go back to bed" she decided before standing up and leaving her father in silence.

The look that Ashley seemed to have constantly glimmering in her eyes told Bobby that she believed she had failed him but truth be told he couldn't be more proud, his daughter was trying to face her fears and this was a tough time to be doing that. Bobby knew it wasn't going to be easy to raise a child in the apocalypse but with three men and a young woman, all of which were hunters, it couldn't be too hard, right?


	5. Oh And By The Way

Ashley sat in the darkness in absolute silence. Her father had gone to bed earlier and the Winchesters had left the day before. It was roughly 11 pm and under normal circumstances Ashley would have probably been drinking but she knew she couldn't do that now. She had been staring at her phone for the past three hours, since Sam had called to tell her that they had reached Housatonic safely and ask her how she was.

Ashley hated the fact that she had been sanctioned to stay home and have nothing to do with any of the hunts that her father was looking into for the other hunters, not even the researching parts. She felt completely useless _and_ she was still fully capable of doing things for herself, she knew things were just going to get worse, especially when she would start showing.

Ashley had her hand placed on her stomach subconsciously rubbing it and feeling the slight bulge that she had never noticed before then. Even after telling Sam, Ashley herself hadn't fully digested the news that she had a little person growing inside of her; she was going to be a mother.

Ashley dwelled on that thought for a while. "I'm gonna be a mother... Not something I ever thought I'd be saying... What if I'm no good at it? What if I screw up your life?" she asked her stomach and as expected she was given no reply.

To take her mind off of her own life Ashley turned on the television but it didn't help much, it was a documentary, the news or the movie _Knocked Up_ and right now none of those were what Ashley wanted to be watching. She sighed, turned off the television then quietly snuck to bed.

Once sleep had come, morning came quickly. Ashley woke up later than usual, 7.30am, and was greeted by the smell of bacon. Ashley went to the bathroom, had a shower then made her way down to the delicious smell that was wafting throughout the entire house. "Morning Daddy" Ashley greeted her father with a hug and a kiss then sat herself down.

"Morning baby girl, how'd you sleep?" Bobby asked as he set a plate out in front of Ashley.

"Once it finally came sleep was good... You heard from the boys?" Ashley replied then began to ask her own off topic questions.

"Not since they left... They only seem interested in checking in with you on this hunt..." Bobby replied as he began to dig into his meal. Ashley sighed but began to tuck into hers as well. About halfway through the meal Ashley's phone began to buzz she looked at it quickly with a confused look on her face then at her father who, seeing the look on her face, nodded for her to answer it.

"Hello?" Ashley asked as she answered the call from an unknown number.

"Oh, Ashley, thank god" the voice of a young man, no older than 20 filtered through the phone.

Ashley frowned, "Um, excuse me but who is this?" she asked as she stood and left the dining table. She headed out to the balcony and leant against the railing, no one ever called Ashley, except her father, Sam and occasionally her ex Blaine who seemed to really want to get her back of late.

"Ashley, it's me! Sam! I know you probably don't b-" the young man spoke quickly as if he was trying to avoid being hung up on.

"What? Why should I believe you?" Ashley asked with a frown, she was sceptical but at the same time curious, it was what made her such a great hunter, she never passed anything off as fake until she was sure.

"Here me out, I'm in Housatonic and-" he tried to speak again but Ashley interrupted.

"Whoa, I don't wanna hear your life story, if you are Sam, like you say you are; just tell me one thing that only he would know..." Ashley replied, she was now rather interested in this conversation, if this really was Sam, some crazy shit had gone down which meant she would be able to have a little adventure.

"Uh...You're having my brother, Dean's, baby" he replied into the phone quietly.

Ashley rolled her eyes that wasn't going to pass, "You're gonna have to do better than that whoever you are because anyone could know that" she replied and waited to hear what he was going to say in reply to that.

The young man, who claimed he was Sam sighed, it was true he was going to have to think to something better, think back further. "In twelfth grade, I tutored you in biology... I came over one afternoon and we sorta made out for awhile... No one else knew because we were alone and we never spoke of it again" he replied speaking quietly the whole time, you could almost hear the blushing in his voice.

Ashley laughed, "Oh yeah, I remember that, you were worried about getting caught the whole time... So Sammy, why are you a pubescent teenager again and what can I do to help?" she asked as she became more serious, her curiosity was growing by the minute.

Sam sighed and began to explain about the situation of having his body swapped with another person, he believed it was witchcraft related, he also expressed his displeasure at knowing someone else was doing god knows what with his body. "... And I can't get hold of Dean and I think I have asthma!" he finished sounding slightly desperate for help.

"Urgh, I hate witches! Okay, okay, umm, I'm coming... Stay in Housatonic and I'll be there as soon as I can-" Ashley began as she walked inside and straight up the stairs with her phone still to her ear. She began throwing things in her duffle bag.

"Whoa, whoa! Ashley, you can't just drive over here, it's like half the country away-" Sam began and Ashley rolled her eyes.

"I'll fly, I know a guy, he's in town and has his jet with him plus he owes me a favour for ridding the jet of a spirit... And Sam, you need help... I can't get hold of Dean either" Ashley replied with a sigh, hating to admit she even tried to call him though it was only because Sam hadn't picked up his phone.

Ashley came down the stairs and stood at the bottom with her duffel bag slung over her shoulder. "Be careful Sam, I'll call you when I'm in Housatonic" she hung up and found her father rolling out of the kitchen. He stopped and frowned when he saw her.

"Where'd you think you're heading off to all of a sudden?" Bobby asked as he moved himself in front of his daughter to stop her from leaving, Bobby had no idea what was going on but he was afraid his daughter was leaving him again.

"Dad, please move out of my way... Sam's in trouble and I think Dean is too" Ashley replied trying to side step her father but his wheelchair had been well positioned to stop her from getting away. "Dad! I'm the only one that can help!" she replied getting louder and sounding more like a child.

Bobby frowned, "Ashley, you're pregnant! Hunting endangers lives, you really want to endanger that of your unborn child?" Bobby asked becoming more serious.

It pissed Ashley off that her father had brought it back to that, she leant in, "I am going, if I lose any of the support network I have, having this child won't even be worth it... I'll come back with the guys" she replied moving her father out of the way and heading to the door, determined.

Bobby sighed, she was so much like her mother when it came to things like this and he knew she was right so he wasn't going to stop her, he didn't want to lose the boys either.

Ashley made a few quick phone calls and before she knew it she was on the plane headed straight for Housatonic, Massachusetts. She spent most of the time in the small toilet cubical wishing she had driven instead but the boys needed help now and by plane was the fastest way she knew.

The plane landed and Ashley stumbled off of it with the help of the pilot, who had owed her a favour. "Are you okay? Last time we met you were definitely not this motion sick..." he commented as he walked Ashley across the tarmac.

Ashley shook her head, "Well, I wasn't pregnant then" she commented as they reached the doors of the airport, why had it been so easy for her to tell a complete stranger?

The pilot, Peter, raised an eyebrow, "Oh, well congratulations... Are you going to need a ride back to South Dakota?" he asked trying not to dwell on Ashley's personal life.

She shook her head, "No, but thanks again Peter" she replied before giving him a slight nod and heading straight for the water cooler to grab a drink and hopefully settle her stomach. Ashley sat down and just like clockwork her phone rang, "Hey Sam" she breathed out as she answered the phone.

"Oh thank god you're okay, did you have a safe flight? Are you here?" Sam asked as if he was in some kind of rush, Ashley could tell something was going on.

She sighed, "Yeah the flight was... sickening and I'm here, getting a cab now, where am I going and how do I know who I am looking for?" Ashley asked as she headed out of the airport and toward the cab rank. "Are you at school?" she asked after a moment, she could hear the unmistakable bustle of teenagers in a packed hallway filtering through the phone.

"Uh, I am inside the body of a teenage guy remember?" he replied and Ashley just laughed. Sam told Ashley exactly where to meet him and when just as she got into the cab, he also told her of the motel he and Dean had been staying in before this whole mess so that's where she headed first, after all she was going to need a place to stay anyway.

After a half hour's drive, Ashley was feeling a little worse for wear. The cab stopped outside the motel, Ashley paid and headed to the front desk. As she reached the corner of the reception building she saw Sam, or whoever was wearing Sam, exiting out the door. She hid behind the corner and watched for a moment then decided to follow, even if this wasn't actually a Winchester, she knew he would lead her to one.

Ashley followed Sam around the back of the motel, it was blatant to see this wasn't the real Sam, Ashley knew he would have noticed her by now. She hugged the sides of the building until Sam rounded a corner, Ashley moved quickly, just in time to see him get into the impala and back it into a bin. She covered her mouth in shock but couldn't help a slight chuckle.

She watched as Sam and Dean swapped places before the impala made its way out of the parking lot. Ashley moved quickly to the closest car, she checked no one was around before she tried the handle of the old car and luckily it opened, she hotwired it and got onto the road quickly to catch up to the impala, she knew she was going to have to be sneaky to avoid being seen by Dean who would probably lose her as soon as he noticed she was following.

She peeled the care carefully out of the parking lot before speeding in the direction of the Winchesters. Ashley soon found the headlights of the impala as they turned into a new motel, she decided to do a lap before coming back and parking. As she parked up she saw Dean leave the reception desk and head for the impala to get Sam, she took that opportunity to hide.

Ashley hid around the corner of the old dingy motel and watched the two men quietly. When they were both standing at the door, seemingly talking about something, Ashley made an attempt to get Dean's attention. She looked around the corner just slightly before making a sharp whistling sound that wasn't too loud but made Dean look, she did again two more times until she heard Dean speak.

"Hey, Sammy you go get set up inside, I'm going to go... see if I can finding a vending machine or something, you want anything?" Dean asked without taking his eyes off the corner of the motel, before 'Sam' was able to reply Dean walked away, heading for the corner of the motel.

Sarah stood back a little and waited for Dean, just as he came to the corner she pulled him around it quickly. When Dean's eyes focused on the figure in front of him he raised an eyebrow, "Ashley? What are you-?" Dean began with an utterly confused look on his face at why she was here and why she was being so secretive.

"Shh" she hissed putting one finger to her lips. "I'm here because your brother is in seventeen year olds body and both he and I think the seventeen year old is in him" she replied pointing in the direction of Dean's motel room.

Dean's confusion turned into a frown, "And how would you know any of this?" he asked raising an eyebrow.

Ashley sighed frustrated, "Sam called me, okay? We don't have time for this! I flew here, made myself sick to get to you and help out!" her voice began to get louder before she took a deep breath.

Dean was still frowning, "We didn't ask for your help but if you seem to know so much and you have been talking to Sam, what is happening and why?" he asked growing a little sceptical and defensive against Ashley.

"Witchcraft Dean!" Ashley replied tapping his forehead once. "Sam's not sure why it's happening but I think..." Ashley paused, Sam had said that Dean wouldn't really be happy knowing the things he had told her but there was no time to mess around. "I think they're after you, I think they want to get rid of you like-" Ashley stopped and gestured with her thumb across her neck that they wanted to kill him.

Dean's frown became deeper, "Why would you think that? What has Sam told you?" Dean asked growing a little angry in one swift movement, Ashley was flat against the wall with Dean holding her arms against it, waiting for her reply.

Ashley looked away, "Sam told me, Dean, he told me that you are Michael's destined vessel and he is Lucifer's... he told me what happened at the Convent in Illchester, he told me what he did, what you did for him, where you've been, he told me everything" Ashley replied growing frustrated by Dean's firm grip on her.

Dean's grip grew a little tighter as Ashley spoke, "Why? Why would he tell you all that? Why would it matter to you?" Dean asked, his voice growing in harshness with each word.

"Well, it kinda affects me too!" Ashley replied without thinking, she then looked away from Dean and went silent then stopped struggling against Dean's grip.

Dean looked at Ashley with both confusion and anger, "What? How the hell will it affect you? You aren't hunting with us, Bobby wouldn't let you, speaking of which does he even know you're here?" Dean asked, his voice increasing slightly in volume.

Ashley was extremely pissed, she began struggling hard against Dean's grip, "Yeah, he does but what would it matter? My father doesn't rule my freaking life! Now let go of me, Winchester!" she replied getting up in Dean's face.

The pair was now only an inch away from each other, both breathing hard with anger and staring at each other. The look of anger in Dean's eyes was slowly fading and being replaced with one of lust. The pair moved around each other slightly, almost teasing each other. Their lips got closer until they were almost touching when Ashley turned her head and looked away.

"Dean, I'm pregnant" she blurted out.


	6. Dealing With It Later

..."Dean, I'm pregnant" she blurted out.

There, Ashley had done it and she did feel some sense of relief but at the same time she felt horrible.

Dean's shocked look was mixed with a frown as he looked from Ashley's face to her stomach then back again, he watched as a slow tear began to trail down her face, he moved back a little and he let go of her arms.

Ashley wrapped her arms around herself, holding herself together and trying hard not to burst into tears, in that moment she felt so alone even with Dean standing right beside her.

"To your asshole ex?" Dean asked slowly and quietly figuring, well, hoping that she was going to say 'yes' but instead Ashley shook her head slowly, still refusing to look straight at Dean. Dean paused for a moment he thought about it, about how angry Bobby had been, about all the secretive talking Ashley had done with both Sam and Bobby. In complete silence, without so much as a word, Dean lifted his hand and pointed one finger at his chest and mouthed 'me?' questioningly.

Ashley nodded slowly with a long shaky breath before she burst into tears and began to cry. Instinctively Ashley pushed herself off the wall and turned to walk away quickly, she couldn't stand to be there for the rejection she felt coming from Dean but before she got far Ashley felt a hand around her wrist.

Dean held onto Ashley's wrist gently and turned her around, he was still in a state of shock and had no idea what to think, "Now is not the time for this, we need to get Sammy back, okay?" he asked seriously as he looked into Ashley's watery eyes before he sighed, "Then we can talk about it" he added prolonging the talk he knew he would have to have, putting it aside for later.

Ashley nodded and sucked up her tears, she pulled her wrist away from Dean and wiped the wetness from her face before taking a deep breath. "Okay, let's do this" she replied with a slight sniffle before Dean nodded and she followed him toward the motel room he and the imposter Sam were sharing.

Dean opened the door carefully, now extremely aware of himself, knowing that this guy inside Sam wanted him dead. Dean entered the motel slowly, he moved to the middle of the room but he couldn't see much, there were no lights on.

Ashley stood watching from the door when she saw a tall figure moving to stand behind Dean. Ashley took a deep breath before beginning to move into the room, she watched as the figure lifted what looked to be a gun then without thinking, Ashley cart wheeled across the floor and kicked the gun out of his hands before kicking the guy in the stomach.

"Owww!" the guy on the floor, who could now be identified as Sam, wailed.

Dean turned around quickly to see the small statured Ashley standing over the large mountain that was Sam.

"Hey, that wasn't fair! Who are you?" Sam asked as he pulled himself to his feet but stood in a stance that made him look ready to attack. Sam looked between Dean and Ashley who were both standing together with their arms crossed looking at the guy like he was nuts.

Ashley chuckled and shook her head, "Gigs up, we know you're not Sam, you're Gary the seventeen year old virgin, dabbling in witchcraft" she informed him shaking her head. "Now, where is Sam?" Ashley asked firmly taking slow, sauntering steps toward Gary.

Gary's eyes widened before narrowing into a glare at Ashley, he looked at Dean helplessly, "Dude, she's nuts, you gotta believe me, I'm your brother!" he tried but when Dean made no attempt to help, he took a swing at Ashley.

She bent backward to avoid the swing before she flipped into a backward cart wheel, kicking Gary in the chin along her way. "Sloppy, if we weren't sure before its plain to see you're definitely not Sam" Ashley commented and Gary came at her again.

Ashley and Gary continued to tussle, for the most part Ashley had the upper hand with her precise and deliberate attacks but Gary did get a few punches in, they hurt like a bitch and would definitely be sore in the morning. Dean stood back, calculating his own attack but Ashley and Gary were moving too much to give him an opening.

Ashley was up against the wall, still doing her best to keep her own, Gary brought back his arm for a right hook to the stomach but before just as his hand was about to come into contact with Ashley's stomach, Dean grabbed it and knocked him down.

Ashley gasped in shock as she instinctively put a hand over her stomach, she dreaded to think what might have happened had Dean not been there to stop it. Gary and Dean were now dancing around each other, neither making the first move. Ashley grabbed a lamp and snuck up behind Gary, "Sorry Sammy, you're gonna be mighty sore in the morning" she whispered before smacking Gary in the head and knocking him out.

Sam's body fell to the ground unconscious and Ashley looked at Dean before sighing. "Let's tie him up and get some answers" Dean suggested as he lifted Sam and prompted Ashley to grab a chair.

Ashley's body was shaking as she came down from her adrenaline and the weight of the situation began to come down her. She pulled out the chair and placed it in the centre of the room before she shook her head and ran to the bathroom. After being sick, Ashley stared at herself in the mirror before looking down at her stomach and caressing it gently, she hadn't realized until this moment how quickly she had grown attached to the little life forming inside of her.

After tying up Gary, Dean knocked on the bathroom door lightly before coming in to see Ashley staring at her stomach with a tear rolling down her cheek. Dean moved toward her slowly not saying a word.

"My father doesn't hear a word of this, okay?" Ashley asked desperately as she looked up at Dean trying to hide how she really felt, she didn't want him to know how scared she was or how attached she had grown.

Dean just nodded, he didn't know what to say or do or how to comfort Ashley so he just stood there for a moment watching her. "That was kind of a close call, huh?" he asked quietly, trying to seem like he wasn't just waiting for her to be okay.

"Dean, think you could just maybe shut up and give me a hug right now?" Ashley asked as a few more tears escaped her eyes, she needed to be held, to know and feel as if she wasn't alone. Her body shook slightly as she tried to hold back further tears that threatened to send her into a breakdown.

Dean didn't try to say another word, he didn't try to fight Ashley's request, he just did as he had been asked and took a step forward before wrapping Ashley in a warm hug. She reacted immediately by wrapping her arms around Dean and burying her head into his chest before she began to cry again. Dean loosened up a little and rubbed Ashley's back gently while hushing her.

After a short time Ashley stopped crying, she sniffled a few times before pulling her head out of Dean's chest and stepping away, she wiped her eyes before looking up at Dean. "Let's find Sammy" she suggested with a nod before she took a glass from the bathroom and filled it with water.

Dean nodded and headed back to where the still unconscious Gary was tied to a chair. Dean sighed and sat back on the bed while Ashley walked past him and splashed water in Gary's face, waking him instantly.

"Owww, my head... Where am I? Oh not you again! You crazy bitch!" he shouted at Ashley who just rolled her eyes and looked at him with a death glare. The pair stared off for a moment before Gary backed down, "Okay, okay, don't hurt me please! I don't wanna die!" he shouted over dramatically.

"Whoa, shut up and you won't die, we just want to know where Sam is" Ashley replied in her normal tone to which Gary looked away. "Where is he Gary?" Ashley asked becoming impatient.

"In my friend's basement, his parents are gone for the weekend" Gary replied in a small voice.

The three piled into the impala and Gary led the way to his friend's house. Ashley sat in the back slightly bored, she would occasionally flick Dean's ear or whisper something in Gary's ear that made him look at her wide eyed, she would just laugh, yep he was definitely a virgin.

After a short drive, Gary signalled for Dean to pull over and the car came to a stop in front of a normal suburban family house. Ashley frowned, "Why is it always the normal ones that no one would ever suspect?" she asked with a frown before she got out of the car, the two guys followed suit.

After walking in on a demon with a tied up Sam and a quick exorcism, they convinced Gary to give Sam his body back before taking Gary home.  
"Crap" Gary mumbled as they pulled into the driveway of his parents' house to see both of them standing to the side of the drive, looking less than impressed. Gary and Sam got out of the car while Ashley and Dean waited for Sam to finish his little pep talk.

"You don't think our kid would hate us enough to turn to witchcraft, do you?" Ashley asked curiously, her eyes placed firmly on Sam and Gary, almost as if she was refusing to look at Dean who had whipped his head her way at the comment.

Dean frowned at the fact Ashley was refusing to even look at him, "So, you're keeping it?" Dean asked curiously, yet cautiously, he didn't want to make it sound like he didn't want the kid or anything but he also didn't want to assume anything either.

Ashley swallowed slowly before turning to Dean just as slowly, she looked at him for a moment, looking as if she was about to say something but instead she shook her head slightly, "As you said, we can talk about it later..." she replied before leaning back into the backseat again.

Dean went to rebut the comment before Sam got in the car with a sigh. Dean frowned before starting the car and driving out. Ashley sighed as she watched the stone hard look on Dean's face through the rear-view mirror, she then looked to Sam and shrugged before leaning her arms on the seat in front of her.

"He knows" Ashley commented between both of the boys before looking at Sam with a slightly sarcastic smile, then to Dean with that very same smile. She sighed contently before leaning back into the backseat again.

Dean frowned, "Wait, what? He knew? Before me?" he asked slightly annoyed at the fact. He looked between Ashley in the rear-view mirror and the road with a hard look on his face.

Ashley shrugged again, "He guessed" she replied simply before looking at Sam who she only just noticed was glaring at her, "What? You did... And I was talking to you when I said 'He knows', I should have said 'Dean knows'?" Ashley shrugged again, she was acting extremely casually when the truth was that she wanted to cry, the surprise in Dean's voice when he thought she was going to keep the child had hit her hard, of course she was going to keep the damn child whether he was involved or not!

Sam looked a little surprised when he realized what Ashley had been trying to say, "You just flat out told him, what are you guys going to do?" he asked looking between Ashley and Dean for an answer.

Ashley rolled her eyes, "I told him and, wait for it, we changed the subject to saving you and we're talking about it later" Ashley replied with sarcasm in her slightly rude tone.

"Hey that's not fair, I-!" Dean began to fight back before Ashley interrupted.

"Just shut up, Dean" she spoke harshly before lying down in the backseat and closing her eyes, she didn't know what she was going to do if Dean didn't want to be a part of her child's life and she didn't really want to know, so for now she sat in unknown and vulnerable territory with Dean and it scared her.

A long and silent few days of driving followed the short chat before the three hunters finally returned home. Ashley was the first out of the car, she pretty much bolted inside before the car had even come to a complete stop. Both boys frowned but shrugged as they followed her inside. Straight away both boys saw Bobby in his wheelchair looking slightly surprised.

Ashley came down the stairs, "Sorry daddy, but we hadn't stopped for like 2 hours and nature calls..." she explained before giving her father a nice strong hug.

Bobby hugged his daughter back before pulling away, "We're going to be talking about this you know" he commented firmly looking up at his currently radiant daughter.

Ashley shook her head with a smile, "I have enough to talk about and I won't be doing any of it before food" she replied before walking into the kitchen. It was obvious that Ashley was prolonging the inevitable and for now Dean would allow it but he wanted to talk to her sooner rather than later.

The three men joined Ashley in the kitchen as she stuffed her face with roast chicken. Sam pulled Bobby aside for a chat, leaving Dean and Ashley alone once again. Ashley looked up from her food before sighing as she saw an expectant Dean, she stood up and walked out to the porch, signalling for Dean to follow.

Ashley sat down on one of the old chairs carefully before looking at Dean, "Well, what do you want me to say, Dean?" she asked with an eyebrow raised, she wanted to know his stance on the whole situation but he wasn't exactly handing it over without a fight.

Dean frowned as he took a seat in another old chair beside Ashley, he didn't particularly like the hostile approach she was taking to the subject. "Why are you being like that? What did I do?" Dean asked hitting the problem head on and trying to find a reason for this. Dean wasn't usually one to volunteer to talk but this wasn't a subject that would sort itself out in a few months, it would arrive in a few months.

Ashley turned to Dean and looked at him blankly, "Why am I being like this? Well, let's see shall we? I tell you I am having your child, you tell me we have more important things to worry about, not that I am saying Sam isn't important because he is but I'm in tears and you tell me to suck it up... Then I ask a simple question with curiosity and you ask me if I am keeping the child as if you're talking about last week dinner!" Ashley grew louder before taking a breath and calming herself again, "And as for what you did to me, I am pretty sure knocking me up counts for a few..." she added with a sigh as she looked out into the cool night sky.

Dean looked at Ashley a little surprised at the outburst and the things she had said, "Well, what did you want me to do? Cry with joy? I hardly know you Ashley and a child was the last thing I had expected out of the time we had spent together! And as for asking if you were keeping the child, I was curious! I would like to know if I am going to be having a child and should prepare or if I should be making an appointment at the clinic!" he replied getting a little upset by the accusations that had been thrown at him.

Ashley frowned and froze slightly, "Wait… y—y—you actually want to be a part of this?" she asked slowly in slight disbelief looking down at her only slightly swollen stomach, she had underestimated Dean, truth be told she thought that he and Sam would be leaving the moment they dropped Ashley back at her father's but he was still here with her.

Dean looked at Ashley realizing that she had thought that he would run and leave her expecting his child in mere months, he could never do that, Sam wouldn't let him, not to mention the fact that neither would his conscience. Dean was lost for words after his realization though he knew he should have been answering Ashley, he was having trouble. "Is that why you couldn't tell me? Because you thought I would just ditch you with your—my—our unborn child?" he asked slightly offended by the thought but then again he knew as well as anyone else that he was not a commitment type of guy.

Ashley shrugged, "To tell you the truth, Dean… I had no clue what you were going to do and that's what scared me… you always have the option to run… I don't get that option…" she frowned as her hand circled her stomach in an attempt to comfort herself. She felt like she wanted to be sick, but she knew it was more likely nerves than her chronic morning sickness that she was hoping would go soon.

Dean nodded slowly as he listened to what Ashley was saying, understanding where she was coming from to a degree, but in his mind there was no real option to run, this kid was as much his responsibility as it was Ashley's if they were keeping it. "Ash, I'm a hunter, to even think of having a child is completely unrealistic, the chance is never there… but, this _is_ a chance… why would I give that up?" dean asked in all honesty, opening himself up, that little bit which was a lot more than usual.

Ashley was lost for words, she sat in the cane chair on her father's porch staring out into the car yard. She was still attempting to digest what Dean was saying, she knew every word was true but she never believed he would see it that way too. "So what are we going to do?" she finally asked looking to Dean with glistening eyes, she was scared but this talk was giving her hope.

Dean shrugged as he sighed, "Take it day by day I guess?" he replied, unsure himself as of what to do. He looked down at Ashley who seemed relieved, nervous and close to tears all at the same time, Dean wasn't really one for comforting but he felt he should. "Whatever happens, we're in it together… okay?" he asked as he looked at her and held out a hand, gesturing with his head for her to come to him.

She took his hand shakily but stood and walked over to him, walking into him, without lifting her arms, just resting her head on his chest as he hugged her, it was exactly what Ashley had needed right then and she was glad. She couldn't help the tears escaping, she groaned, "Gah, I am so damn emotional" she cursed herself and the pair chuckled before heading back inside where Sam and Bobby were sitting back at the table once more.

Ashley looked an utter mess and Dean wasn't much better but they both stood there looking at the other two. Ashley shrugged slightly and a huge smile crossed Sam's face as he practically jumped out of his chair and wrapped his arms around Ashley and Dean. "Congratulations! I'm going to be an uncle!" he mused excitedly with a huge smile to which Ashley couldn't help but smile and chuckle a little.

Bobby rolled over and looked at Dean seriously, "You better take care of my baby girl and her baby, you hear?" he raised an eyebrow and waited for Dean to nod before taking his hand, "Congrats, old man" he chuckled and shook his head, going for the celebratory drinks.

Ashley looked at Dean and gave a slight smile, she still didn't know where they stood, but she was happy just knowing he was going to be there.


	7. Escaping Imprisonment

Ashley sat with a bowl of deep fried lettuce, her latest craving, at her side. Munching away, she perused through a book on pregnancy she had bought earlier that week. So far the pictures were the most interesting parts, seeing how big her stomach would most likely get and what the baby would look like inside of her.

Life had been going on around her as if everything was absolutely fine, minus the apocalypse and the fact that no one was letting her do anything except sit and eat her fried lettuce, doing anything but research on hunting. The boys had been in and out on hunts a few times over the past few weeks and life was beginning to settle into a new norm. Bobby kept his eyes on his little girl at every possible moment, tending to her every need, even when she wished he wouldn't. Ashley couldn't understand her old me, he was wheelchair bound and yet still exerted himself, Ashley wasn't even showing but wasn't allowed to lift a finger, it felt slightly hypocritical.

Dean and Sam were in the dining room, flicking through a newspaper while scouring over a map that was laid across the table, obviously looking out for another hunt. "Hey Dean, look at this…" Sam spoke as he pushed the newspaper across the table for Dean to see. He skimmed the article quickly before looking back up to Sam, giving a nod before he frowned.

Ashley walked into the kitchen wearing her jeans and a button up shirt, trying to avoid showing any signs of the bulge that was slowly forming. She wasn't big yet, but in anything relatively tight it was definitely noticeable. "Hey, shouldn't you be sitting down and eating your lettuce?" Dean asked with an eyebrow raised as he looked past Sam to Ashley who rolled her eyes.

"Seriously? I can't even get a glass of water? Dean, I'm not handicapped, god… when I am a whale, I am sure I will appreciate that everyone wants to do everything for me, but until then, please! Give it a rest!" Ashley sighed looking at him defeated, she just wanted to go back to being normal until she couldn't hide the situation any longer. No one knew about the bulge yet, she had kept it well hidden, it wasn't hard, but right now, she didn't need to give them a reason to chain her down.

Dean shook his head, rolling his eyes, already used to Ashley's all but constant attitude, though it seemed to have gotten worse as the weeks had passed. She had gotten over her morning sickness however, which was a major plus. "Fine… just don't blame me when you pull a muscle or something… I'm not rubbing it better" he shook his head and went back to reading.

"Sammy will" Ashley smiled and poked out her tongue before walking over and giving Sam a hug from behind, around his neck.

"Whoa, how did I get dragged into this?" Sam asked with an eyebrow raised which only made Ashley roll her eyes.

"Good job of being on my side, Sam" she shook her head and walked back over to the fridge, grabbed out a bottle of water then slammed the door and headed back to the living room with a moody air. She pushed her lettuce away and actually began to read the book she had bought, chapter by chapter she decided to read, she wasn't finding it overly interesting.

Bobby rolled into the dining room, passing Ashley and kissing her head as he went. "Boys, I got another hunt for you, but you two are gonna have to haul your asses over there A-sap…" he told them as he dropped a file on the table between them, it was thick and had the address written on the front. "Well? Pack your crap and get goin'! These demons ain't gonna rid 'emselves" he shook his head as he rolled back into the living room giving them time to pack.

"Hey honey" Bobby smiled at his daughter who had a rather unamused look on her face before she looked at him and gave a faint smile. "The boys are gonna be going for another few days" he informed and she rolled her eyes.

"I heard" she replied simply before sighing, "What is it this time? Can I at least know that?" Ashley asked hopefully, she missed the hunt and everything about it, she hated that she was cooped up in this rickety old house. If she didn't get out soon, she was going to kill everyone in it, herself included.

Bobby sighed and shook his head at his daughter's hostility, he couldn't understand it but he also knew he couldn't change it without causing her to burst into tears, which she did every time anyone spoke about her attitude. The boys came down the stairs with duffle bags at the ready and as was ritual Bobby and Ashley followed them out to the porch where goodbyes were said.

When she hugged them Ashley was careful not to let them feel her stomach, she didn't need them fawning over her right now. It was an easy feat with Sam, he had to bend down to hug her, nearly not touching her at all. And with her father, she was the one who had to lean down, keeping her stomach away from him all together. However, with Dean it wasn't so easy. He had developed a habit of pulling her close while they hugged, not that he had said anything but she had a suspicion he liked having the baby close as well.

When Dean hugged her this time, there was nothing she could do to avoid it except suck in her stomach and hope for the best. The slightly weird look on Dean's face as she pulled away told her that obviously she had failed in that attempt to conceal the bump. He looked as if he was going to say something to her but instead turned to Sam, "Come on, Sammy, we got ourselves a hunt to do" he nodded before heading down the stairs, Sam on toe.

Ashley sighed, she felt bad about not telling Dean, he deserved to know but she didn't feel it was that big of a deal. She shook her head and went back to reading her book, _Pregnant and Unprepared_.

They had been driving for a couple of hours and Dean hadn't said a word, his mind was elsewhere but his eyes hadn't left the road ahead of him. Sam had been watching him the past few minutes, the deep and thoughtful look on Dean's face was concerning him, his brother never thought too hard about anything so it must have been important. He was waiting for Dean to say something himself but he was fast growing impatient.

Sam sighed, "So, I was thinking maybe—" he began but couldn't even finish his sentence before Dean practically spilt everything that was on his mind.

"Ashley's pregnant…" Dean spoke numbly. "… I mean, I knew she was pregnant but… I guess it never really hit me until…" his words trailed off and he looked deep in thought again.

"…until you felt her stomach?" Sam offered with an eyebrow raised. Of course he had felt her stomach, he just hadn't said anything because he had noticed she obviously didn't want anyone knowing yet, they hugged so much he would have to be an idiot not to notice.

Dean's attention snapped to Sam and he frowned slightly, "She showed you?" he asked slightly pissed that she was sharing everything with Sam and not him.

"No, no… Dean, I don't think she knows I know, I don't think she wants anyone knowing… don't know why…" Sam shrugged, assuring his brother. "I guess that we are tying her down enough, if she openly revealed her stomach you wouldn't let her move… or eat… or probably read just in case she gets a paper cut…" he teased slightly with a smirk to which Dean only frowned.

"I'm not that protective… I just want her to be careful" Dean spoke defensively and Sam laughed hard.

"You told her not to be up when she was just trying to get a drink" he rebutted before shaking his head. "She's used to independence, Dean, you can go and chain her down like that without her pulling away" he explained looking at his brother with a look of understanding.

Dean just scowled at the road, "I don't know if I can do it, Sam…" he admitted quietly, so quietly Sam wasn't sure he had heard his brother's confession correctly. "I'm having a baby with a girl I hardly know, Bobby's daughter of all people, in the middle of the damn apocalypse" he shook his head and sighed. "I mean, I know I told Ashley I would be there for her, and I'm trying, I am… but Sam, I don't know if I can be a dad… I haven't exactly had the greatest of role models… and I'm a freaking hunter, I can't be there for any chick, let alone a kid… I don't do commitment and well, this is a pretty damn huge commitment, Sam" Dean continued before shaking his head and pulling the car over. He was breaking down, slowly but surely, the strong walls he had put up were crumbling faster than he could rebuild them.

Sam frowned, he hadn't seen Dean so torn up since they lost their father. "Dean, it's going to be okay, you got me and Bobby and don't forget Ashley, as long as you're there for her I'm sure she'll be there for you too" he reasoned with a nod. "You aren't making any commitment, Dean, you aren't marrying Ashley, I mean you two aren't even together… you're only going to support her and your own flesh and blood… You'll do fine, just learn from dad's mistakes… don't make the same ones" Sam shrugged, he didn't know how to deal with this but his words seemed to be working, that or Dean didn't want to talk anymore and was clamming up.

Dean put his car back into gear, "This doesn't leave this car, you got it?" he spoke with slight threat in his voice before speeding off again as if nothing had happened at all. That was Dean and Sam knew better than to try and push the conversation any further.

"Dinner!" Bobby called from the dining room and Ashley closed her book, having finally finished it. It had opened her eyes and now she was worried about every possible problem with her pregnancy.

She sat down in silence and just stared at her food, "What's wrong, honey?" Bobby asked as he looked to his worried daughter, he was expecting something minor like her not feeling like eating what was made but he didn't expect what came next.

"What if I end up with some pregnancy complication and all this will have been for nothing… I may never have another chance to have kids… what if I end up with preeclampsia or have conduplicato corpore or end up having an ectopic pregnancy? Dad, I don't know if I could deal with that…" Ashley whispered, by this time she was shaking and looked more scared than she had when she found out the bogey man was real, at the age of eight.

Bobby frowned, "Oh, sweetheart" he sighed as he pulled her into a hug, "You're a healthy girl and you have a support network that loves you, I am sure everything will be okay… you and your baby will be fine" he spoke, unsure of what else to say.

"Then, if I do have this baby, I have no idea what to do with it… I mean, it's gonna cry and need to eat and poop… I don't know how to deal with that!" Ashley continued worrying, now in tears, as she had been more than she was comfortable lately, damn hormones.

Bobby sighed and gently stroked her hair, "Shh baby, it's okay…" he whispered, he had nothing else to say, he didn't know how to comfort her. Suddenly Ashley pulled away and walked up to her room, closing the door and locking it loudly, she didn't want to be around anyone, no one understood what she was thinking or what she was going through.

Later that night she received the regular call from Sam, just checking in to see how she was and let her know they were alive. Ashley replied with a few mumbles words and within seconds Sam knew something was up. "What's going on, Ash? Is something wrong?" he asked instantly worried that something had happened to her or the baby.

Ashley rolled her eyes and sighed, "No Sam, the baby is fine" she replied in a rather monotonous voice, that still managed to somehow portray her all round fiery attitude. Ashley was growing rather sick of people only caring because of this damn baby.

"And you?" Sam asked cautiously, sensing something was definitely wrong and that she would more than likely snap at his question or burst into tears, neither of which he wanted her to do. Dean was lying on his bed staring at the ceiling, just listening to Sam's conversation with Ashley, he had frowned slightly when Sam thought something was wrong but only moments later Sam had cleared it up with a simple gesture.

"What about me, Sam? I'm stuck in this stupid damn house, alone most of the time… reading a freaking pregnancy book that has pretty much told me everything that could possibly go wrong and the likelihood that it will! I can't go pee without someone hounding me for it or telling me to sit back down… I can't deal with this and frankly… I don't know if I want to… look, I'm going now before you try talking bullshit… night Sam" Ashley spoke rather harshly before hanging up and sighing.

She stared at her wardrobe for a moment before getting up and beginning to throw everything into her suitcase, she needed out of this house, out of this town for a little while and she knew the only time she would get that is when the boys weren't there to stop her.

Sam frowned as he hung up the phone for the fifth time before he looked at his brother, who was now sitting on the edge of the bed with a look of sheer concern. "She's not answering…" Sam spoke slowly, his frown deepening. "Dean, she said something about not being able to deal with this and she wasn't sure she wanted to…" he explained but before he was even finished Dean has his coat and was on his way to the car.

Sam jumped into step quickly, grabbing the few things they had in the motel before joining Dean in the car. It was more than evident where Dean was headed and Sam said absolutely nothing to stop him, it was what had to be done.

By what Sam had told him, Dean was freaking out that maybe Ashley was going to go and do something completely stupid, he couldn't handle it if she did, not now that he was just coming to terms with the idea of being a father.

Packing her things faster than she ever had, while ignoring the repeated calls from Sam, Ashley got herself ready to leave again, she knew she would be back so she wasn't at all upset. She grabbed her things and left a note on the kitchen table that read:

_By the time you read this, I won't be here… Just know I am coming back at some point, so please don't worry about me, I just can't stand being so suffocated all the time, I need my space. _

_Don't come after me or try to call me, it will only prolong my return… I love you, Dad xx  
P.S. Dean, I'm sorry…_

And with that she closed the screen door behind her, got in her car and sped away as fast and as quiet as she was able to.


	8. Back to Beaufort

When the boys finally got back to Bobby's they soon found they were too late. Pulling up into the driveway the first thing they noticed was the missing car, Sam's stomach sank, "Maybe she just went out to… get gum?" he suggested, trying to be optimistic when it was rather pointless.

"Don't Sam" Dean warned in a gruff voice that seemed far more strained than would be expected of Dean in this situation.

Both men got out of the car, practically running into the house to find Bobby, he couldn't have been dealing with this well. Entering the kitchen Dean found Bobby staring down at the note she had left, his hand trembling slightly as he read it for the hundredth time over.

"Bobby…" Dean spoke cautiously as Sam entered the kitchen behind him.

"She's… gone…" Bobby replied in a disbelieving whisper as he looked up to the boys, his eyes gleaming lightly with tears that he was refusing to let fall. Though he was trying his hardest it was to no avail, when he saw the looks on the boys' faces the tears won.

"We have to go find her, Sam, come on" Dean nodded as he was about to head back out the door again, determined but Sam stopped him, holding him back for a moment.

"Dean… we don't know where she is… she doesn't want to be found" Sam replied, trying to reason with him and for a moment he fought before going still.

"So, what? We're just going to let her go off and do God knows what?!" he asked getting a little annoyed that no one wanted to do anything or go out and try and find her, by now she could be anywhere!

"He's right, Dean" Bobby spoke sombrely, "There is no point going out looking if we don't know where she is… we need to give her some time, she said she'd come back… she'll come back…" he spoke, trying hard himself to believe it. He couldn't believe his little girl had just left again, so quickly without even a word or goodbye.

Dean stood, staring between the pair, he could hardly believe what he was hearing. He turned around without a word and stormed out, slamming the front door hard before heading back over to his car. He had no idea where he was going but he needed to drive.

Sam sighed and headed into the study, he knew Dean was just worried and so were Sam and Bobby but they knew better than to drive aimlessly in hopes of finding her when she could be anywhere, under any name. Sam grabbed a map and started making some calls, looking for any name she had ever mentioned using, calling fellow hunters and dingy motels.

Bobby had become a recluse in his bedroom, needing the time to digest the news and just sleep it away. He was emotional about it and he didn't need the boys seeing him like that, only his daughter was able to evoke this kind of strong emotion and half the time she didn't even know that she did it.

Dean drove and drove, until he had no idea where he was or how far away he'd gotten but he'd filled up the tank awhile back and now it was getting dark. He pulled over and shot Sam a text saying he'd be staying at a motel. He checked the GPS on his phone next, wondering where he was and how far the drive to the motel would be.

He was surprised to find he had made it all the way to St. Louis, it didn't feel like he'd been driving for ten hours. He shook his head before getting back into the car and driving further east to reach a small restaurant realizing how hungry he had grown.

He sat and stared, he couldn't keep his mind in one place, even as the waitress tried chatting him up. He was searching through his mind for any hint as to where Ashley could have headed, he had a feeling he had headed this way for a reason, his subconscious must know something he was having trouble recalling.

Beaufort, South Carolina.

Home.

To Ashley home was a low set ranch-style house, plain looking from the outside but lusciously decorated within. The place she called home, was nowhere near what would be considered small; it would've been at least two times her own father's house. Rich cream coloured weather-board topped with clean white trimmings. The garage alone must've been the same size as Bobby's first floor; fit for three large cars. The land around the house was rich with life, greenery made the scene picturesque along with the waterfront view.

Home.

The long drag of white gravel seemed to run on forever, but anticipation only ever increased while one was driving it. It was much like that for Ashley right now, she anticipated seeing her house again, her home. Of course she considered her father's house her home as well, only she hadn't worked for that one, she hadn't built it up from nothing, but her house she did.

Home.

Seeing the looming attic windows, like eyes, pulling her forward, mesmerising her into the point of no return. The white gravel crunch beneath her tires began to quieten as her car slowed. The windows were dark and yet strangely inviting to her, giving her piece of mind that she hadn't left lights on. Her car finally came to a stop and Ashley stepped out, finally, after what felt like far too long, she was…

Home.

She got out and walked up to the door, unable to help the smile on her face as the familiar creaking of the screen door brought back memories before unlocking the house. It felt like a lifetime since she had been there, not the 3 and a half long months that it had been.

She held her stomach as she walked through the familiar rooms, remembering the first time she had walked through the house when she'd bought it. It was just as clean and void of life as it had been then too.

She headed to her bedroom and frowned as she stared at the stripped bed, remembering the day she had left, looking out the window she could still see the mess of burnt sheets not too far down the huge yard.

Ashley shook her head, shaking the thought from her mind before going to the linen closet for fresh sheets. She had really missed this place, though it was rather lonely being in the middle of nowhere alone. She did a quick check of the salt lines, signs and sigils before grabbing her bag, she really was home and settling in nicely.

Dean sat on the motel bed staring at the mint green wall across from him, with the ugliest trimmings he'd ever seen and that was saying something considering the motels he had been in. He brought the bottle to his lips and sighed, he'd been wracking his brain all night and come up short.

The familiar burn in his throat did nothing to sooth his current unease but he continued with it anyway. He had decided that come morning he would continue in the direction he had been driving, maybe he'd get somewhere.

His phone began ringing and he grabbed it quickly, unable to hide the disappointment when he saw Sam's name on the screen. "Sammy!" he answered and took another swig.

Sam frowned on the other end of the line, "Are you drinking? Where are you?" he asked before shaking his head and sighing when he was given nothing but a burp in return. "Look, I just wanted to let you know, I've come up short on every search I have done for her, she's password protected her GPS tracking and Bobby doesn't know it… until she contacts us, we have nothing" he spoke sombrely and waited for Dean to get angry but he didn't.

Dean sighed and shook his head, "I got nothing either, but I am going to keep heading in the direction I've been travellin', maybe I'll remember something, if not I'm sure it's a nice winter on the coast…" he spoke and frowned, "Sammy… I think I know where she is…" he commented before shaking his head, why hadn't he thought of this earlier?! "Gotta go" he hung up then stood and cursed, why had he been drinking? There is no way he could drive in this condition. He was going to have to wait til morning, wasting more time.

Sam got off the phone with a frown and went to talk to Bobby, knocking on his door, he didn't open it but waited for a reply. Bobby came to the door, "What do you want?" he asked gruffly, he had obviously been getting ready for bed.

"Dean thinks he knows where Ashley is… he hung up on me instead of telling me… he's been drinking and won't tell me where he is either" Sam sighed and Bobby rolled his eyes.

"Let the idjit do what he's gotta do, I'm sure he'll call and rub it in if he's right… if not, we'll hear about that too…" Bobby shook his head and headed back into his room, leaving Sam alone in the house. He decided to do the one thing no one had and check Ashley's room, for any sign of where she was headed but the only thing he found was _Pregnant and Unprepared_ with a knife stuck in it on her bedside table.

Just like Dean, he really hoped that Ashley hadn't done anything stupid that she would regret. He was hoping she had just gone back to her house and was safe and sound there, recuperating so she'd hopefully come back and be ready for this whole experience.

Morning came far too soon and Ashley, she sighed pulling herself out of bed far later than she had ever before. She looked at the big red 11 staring back at her, she had been really tired from all the travelling she had done to get home. She shook her head as she got up and headed into the kitchen, hungry but frowning as she remembered there was no food left in the house.

She smiled, this meant a shopping trip which she had the freedom to do! No one around to tell her they'd do it, this was something she had to do or go hungry! She scrubbed up quickly, the smile never leaving her face as she locked up headed out. Independence, it was back and she was loving it.

Morning couldn't come soon enough for Dean, he had a brief sleep and cold shower, a couple of coffees, anything he could to try and sober up faster. He even walked down to the closest 24/7 takeout joint.

Impatiently he managed to wait until about 6 in the morning, he hadn't been drinking for at least 7 hours that was good enough for him, he headed out to his car and flew out of the parking lot. It felt like 7 hours wasted but he knew it was better this way.

Now that he had some idea where he thought Ashley might be, he was even more determined to get there. Dean's determination stemmed from a mix of things; Ashley was being irresponsible and it wasn't just her life she was looking out for anymore, she didn't talk to him about it, at all, she just snapped and left and on top of all that, he'd grown kind of attached to having her around, coming back from a hunt to her and Bobby.

Even when she was in a crappy mood they'd sit and watch Dr Sexy MD while she indulged in whatever she was craving and most the time she would be close to sleep leaning against him. They'd spar in the back of the car yard in the few times that Ashley would get her way and refused to sit down any longer. She didn't quite open up to him as much as she did Sam, but she was getting there and for once Dean was having a different kind of relationship with a girl.

He remembered the last time he had seen her before they'd left, he'd known she was pregnant but nothing really set in until he had felt her stomach against him, he could hardly believe that the bulge was a baby, their baby.

It began to dawn on him, the dark thoughts, maybe she didn't want him as a part of their baby's life, maybe that was why she had decided to run and to his own surprise just the thought almost crushed him. He put his foot down, a renewed sense of determination filling him, he needed to know that this wasn't why she had left.

Another day of travelling had left Dean exhausted, physically, mentally and emotionally. He rolled into Savannah, South Carolina a little past 8 pm, having to stop there, realizing he didn't know where in it was Ashley actually lived. He pulled in to a motel knowing there was a chance she'd fight him and he'd have to stay there awhile.

It was hard to believe how much he had riding on this. Never in a thousand years had Dean thought he'd find himself in this position; worrying about being rejected by a girl he may actually care about.

Taking a breath he pulled out his phone, sitting in the car in the motel parking lot feeling much more comfortable, more confident in his Impala than in a foreign motel room.

Ashley was dancing around her kitchen whipping up an extravagant dinner for herself because she had missed cooking so much. The roast was in the oven and she had already finished baking a nice mixed berry pie for dessert which sat cooling on the counter.

The familiar ring of her cell phone broke through the music she had playing, a frown crossed her face and she sighed, no one was supposed to be calling her, didn't she tell them that already? But it had been almost 3 days since she'd left and no one had tried calling until now so she went over and had a look, curious to see which one had decided to call.

She was a little surprised to see Dean's name come up, along with a photo she had taken of him looking like a complete idiot with food hanging off his face without him realizing. She bit her lip and waited a moment before picking up.

"I must say I didn't think you'd be the first to crack…"


	9. And It Ended With a Kiss?

"I must say I didn't think you'd be the first to crack…" she admitted quietly, almost hearing a relieved sigh come from Dean, obviously glad she had actually picked up the phone after thinking she wasn't going to.

Dean let out a sigh, "Ash… how's it going?" he asked, knowing to get the answer to his question he was going to have to have a chick flick moment which wasn't an easy thing for him to do, even if he really wanted to have his thoughts either confirmed or proven wrong.

Ashley raised an eyebrow with a slight frown, he called to ask how things were going? "Pretty good, just cooking up a storm for dinner" she humoured him before letting out a sigh of her own. She hopped up onto the kitchen counter and sat comfortably, "How's it going on your end?" she asked cautiously, knowing he can't have been too happy with her but he seemed rather calm.

Dean scoffed slightly and shook his head, "Oh, it's going great… had my baby mama go missing and tell me not to call…" he replied trying not to push too hard, after all he didn't want her to hang up. "And I just…" he began but faded out, unable to come up with the words he wanted to say.

Ashley frowned, she knew something like that was coming though he had said it lightly, almost playfully. She knew Dean well enough by now to tell this wasn't why he'd call, but also to know that he was trying to keep her from hanging up, she couldn't help hearing the anxiety in his voice and it worried her a bit.  
"Dean…" she whispered, with just his name so much was said, she even surprised herself with it, she missed him… she had been the one to run away but was glad to hear his voice.

Dean sighed, closing his eyes and resting his head against his steering wheel, "I just need you to tell me the truth…" he whispered, his voice strained because damn this was hard for him.

"About what?" Ashley asked, a slight frown evident in her voice, she didn't quite understand what it was he was getting at.

He had to just get it out of the way, "The baby… did you leave because…" he started before his words got caught in his throat so he tried again. "Did you leave because you didn't want me to be a part of its life?" he asked, finally getting it out in the open but feeling much like he was free falling and what was below him depended on Ashley, she would either give him a pile of pillows or a bed of thorns.

Ashley almost gasped at the question, she was stunned, she had never wanted to keep Dean out of the baby's life and she'd never thought in her wildest dreams that he'd come to that conclusion. Her silence stretched on, not because she didn't want to answer the question but because she was shocked with no idea how to reply.

"Ash…" Dean whispered, voice strained to the max, he needed some kind of response before he cracked.

"Oh Dean…" Ashley whispered and shook her head, she was moved by how much he seemed to care, all the damn hormones were pushing tears to threaten her eyes. "No… no, that's not why I left… I had to get away from being wrapped in bubble wrap by the three of you all the time, I couldn't take it…" she explained and bit her lip. "Dean, I'd never want you out of this baby's life… you're part of the reason it even has one" she whispered trying to reassure him.

"Bubble wrap? Why didn't I think of that…" Dean replied jokingly, trying to lighten the conversation again, feeling both relieved and content with Ashley's reply.

"DEAN!" she scolded and shook her head laughing before sighing. "You going to be anywhere near a TV in about an hour?" she asked as she checked the time.

"I could be… why?" he asked now curious what she was thinking.

"Dr Sexy… duh" she chuckled slightly, "I was thinking maybe I'd call so we could sort of watch it together in a… weird way" she shook her head, she sounded like a nervous high school teenager asking someone to the dance.

Dean chuckled then opened his mouth to speak before closing it again, he wasn't sure whether he should tell Ashley he was in South Carolina or not. He didn't know how she'd react or if it would just make her move further away from him, she already thought she was across the country from him, or that he hadn't been paying attention so even if he was nearby he wouldn't know it.

The silence greeting her from the other end of the phone made Ashley frown, "I mean, we don't have to… I know you're probably busy with a hunt or something" she shook her head, trying to retract her statement as she hopped of the kitchen bench. "It was just an idea…" _a stupid one_ she thought with a sigh.

"No, I'd like that…" he replied, he'd like more to actually just watch it with her but at this rate she wasn't even going to know he'd travelled a total of twenty-four hours so far to get to her. "And Ash… there hasn't been any talk of hunting since you left… I can't account for Sammy, but I haven't" he added honestly, thinking of Sam he should probably call him at some point too.

She sighed with a little relief at his reply before frowning again, "Oh, okay… well, how are dad and Sam?" she asked, assuming that he must have still been at Bobby's if he hadn't been hunting. "I mean, you're still at dad place… right?" she asked cautiously, suddenly unsure that he was.

Dean was amazed that she had become suspicious so quickly out of almost nowhere. "Uh, your dad was pretty torn up when we got back… that's about all I know…" he replied trying to give her as much as he could without telling her he had left pretty much as soon as he'd seen Bobby so upset.

"Dean, where are you?" she asked seriously as she opened the oven door to check on her roast. It still had awhile to go which was frustrating considering her hunger.

"Savannah… South Carolina" Dean replied simply, but with quiet caution in his voice.

Ashley frowned trying to think of any kind of clues she may have left but she came up empty, she tried to remember mentioning it and only remembered once. "Why?" she asked quietly.

"Why do you think, Ash? I mean really…" he replied a little exasperated, he just wanted to relax but he felt like he was teetering on the edge right now.

Ashley paused a moment, calculating carefully her next words. She looked around, the house was pretty big and lonely to be in by herself and there was going to be far too much food for her alone.

"You're about an hour away…" she whispered, "If you hurry you might be able to make it for the beginning of Dr Sexy…" she smiled slightly to herself. "You have to promise me one thing though, Dean…" she spoke seriously.

Dean was relieved that she pretty much accepted that he was coming over, if she had have been angry he would have waited the night but he'd have found her the next day. "What's that?" he asked with a curious eyebrow raised.

"No more bubble wrap…" she replied with a hoping sigh.

"I promise, I'll try to unwrap you a bit" he nodded, he couldn't promise it completely because he was going to worry either way.

"Ah and a second thing, I don't want dad or Sam coming here… at least for a while" she added, feeling a little bad but she couldn't be stuck in a house with her father for another day, as much as she loved him, she'd kill him if he sheltered her another minute.

"Ash… I don't know if that's fair…" Dean frowned slightly, "I think Sammy will have figured it out by now… if not he will soon" he added, getting the feeling he was going to have to tell them to give some space for a bit.

"Dean, please, I just need a while… not crowded, please don't make me take back my invitation" she grimaced, hoping he could just play along for a little while and she wouldn't have to watch Dr Sexy MD alone again.

"Okay, I'll tell them to keep distance for a bit… but can I at least tell them you're okay?" Dean asked sighing as he agreed to her conditions.

"Okay… well, dinner should be ready when you get here" she replied before hanging up and texting him her address.

Ashley stared at the phone for a moment then at the oven then finally at what she was wearing; a rather tight silk camisole that had tightened because of her stomach and the matching underwear. She shook her head, no way was she answering the door wearing this. She ran upstairs to shower and change into something more guest appropriate.

She returned half hour later, feeling a little rushed now. She was wearing a pair of plane white cotton pyjama shorts and black singlet. She had debated the singlet because of how accentuated it was for her stomach but she decided that in the comfort of her own home, Dean should have the chance to see and, if he so pleased, feel what was currently in the works.

She had already noticed the clothing she could comfortably wear from her wardrobe had decreased, jeans were almost out of the question already, as were most of her tops if she wanted to maintain any kind of modesty. It was already a little depressing.

Sighing she headed for the freezer with a spoon and grabbed out one of the tubs of ice cream she had bought. Right now the freezer was filled with all different kinds of Ben & Jerry's but she had grabbed out the 'Milk and Cookies'. Grabbing a spoon she began to eat slowly, waiting for dinner, Dean or Dr Sexy, whichever came first.

Ashley sat on the couch facing her flat screen, engrossed in whatever soap opera was airing before Dr Sexy, forgetting she was waiting on other things. The oven was the first to go off and she ran to it, leaving her ice cream on the coffee table and spoon in mouth. She began dishing out the food onto two plates just as she heard the channel introducing the show up next. Then the doorbell rang, like all at once everything was ready but her.

She grabbed the remote, turning the TV up as she ran across the house, spoon still in mouth she quickly straightened up, making sure her hair wasn't too much of a mess before finally answering the door. There was silence as they seemed to take each other in through the screen door, like an assessment almost.

Dean was relieved to see a familiar face after all the driving though there was a little more than her face to be noticed, she wasn't exactly hiding her stomach anymore and even with her bare legs and the way the singlet sat low on her chest, that's where his eyes lingered longest.

Ashley bit her lip slightly before carefully pushing open the screen door, "Come in" she offered speaking around the spoon before removing it and stepping out of the way to let him in. "Dr Sexy is just starting and dinner is being served… couch is just through there" she pointed across to an archway as she headed back into the kitchen to finish serving the food.

Dean stood a little awkwardly in the entrance of Ashley's house it was a rather open plan house from the entrance he could see the dining room, archway to the hall and another archway to the lounge room then a third to what he assumed was a study that was to one side and to the other was a hall, where he assumed the bathroom and bedrooms were. He moved toward where he had been pointed.

"Oh, I have the remote if you want it!" Ashley called from the kitchen and Dean decided he'd rather not stalk Ashley's house alone, plus the smell of the food lured him in quite quickly as it wafted through the house. He placed his jacket over the back of a dining chair as he headed into the kitchen to see a pile of roasted vegetables and a whole chicken.

"Remote" she spoke as she went to hand him the remote and realized it was a spoon then frowned. "Okay… maybe not… food?" she asked as she held a plate out to him with a slight smile. Why was it so awkward having him here? She couldn't understand it and she didn't want it to be that way.

"Thanks" he replied taking the plate before being handed cutlery.

"Oh, I remember, the remotes in the back of my pants…" she spoke before letting out a slight laugh and shaking her head. "I'm getting a little forgetful…" she explained and shook her head before leading Dean into the lounge room.

The pair both shovelled down their food and watched TV in a silence that seemed rather forced but neither knew what to say. By the first ad break Dean looked to Ashley, a little confused, "I thought Nicholas and Shannon were together?" he frowned, he hadn't seen it for almost a week now and he was lost.

Ashley chuckled and looked at him, "Well, Nicholas tried murdering Penny because he didn't want her having his child and Shannon found out, so now she is back with Nathan who was the one that actually tried killing Penny to get back with Shannon…" she explained with a nod. "Oh and Alice came back so now she and Bradley are together" she rolled her eyes, having seen that coming.

Dean laughed, "Don't like the Brad and Alice pairing?" he asked with an eyebrow raised.

Ashley shook her head, "I do, but they so could have prolonged them getting together… I mean, everyone knew they were going to get together, even before she left they obviously were close… I just thought they could create more tension instead of having her fall into his arms the minute she got back, ya know?" she shrugged before eating some more chicken as the show came back on.

By the end of the show Ashley and Dean were just staring at the screen, she turned off the remote slightly awkwardly and they sat in a stretching silence.

"Well… that was… interesting…" she commented before clearing her throat and grabbing both plates, scurrying off to the kitchen, balancing the ice cream in her arm. She hurried around cleaning up, really just trying to avoid talking to Dean.

Dean sat unmoving on the couch. The episode had quite an unexpected twist that had left things awkward, well even more awkward between Ash and Dean. It turns out Alice had come back because Bradley had gone and found her then by the end of the episode she had admitted she was pregnant with his child. He had believed that because she was having his baby, they were obviously close and they'd hit it off pretty well to have spent even one night together, he wanted to try and make things work between them and the episode had, of course, ended with a kiss.

He gave it a moment before heading into the kitchen, seeing Ashley perched up on the kitchen bench next to the microwave with a tub of vanilla ice cream that she was eating slowly as she waited.

"Ice cream?" she asked holding out the spoon and tub before shrugging and taking it back when Dean shook his head. "There's pie in the microwave… I'm waiting for it" she explained and continued eating.

"Ash…" Dean whispered with a slight frown, she was being weird and he was a little worried.

"What? You don't want pie? Oh… okay… well… I want pie… I spent all afternoon cooking it so I'm going to eat it…" she nodded rambling before spooning more ice cream into her mouth.

"Come on, you know I'd never say 'no' to pie… but are you okay?" he asked watching as she obviously avoided eye contact with him.

She shrugged, "I feel like I have eaten my weight in food today… but ya know, I stopped feeling all queasy and stuff so I'm taking full advantage of that" Ashley replied though she was avoiding anything to do with Dr Sexy MD, even though they'd usually spend some time talking about the episode afterward.

"That's good to hear but not what I meant…" Dean sighed and shook his head before moving over closer, taking the ice cream tub and spoon from her before closing it and putting it aside.

Ashley put up no fight whatsoever as he took the ice cream, "I was eating that…" she commented just looking at him, curious as to what it was that he was doing. "This better not be a bubble wrap thing…" she warned with a slight frown and Dean shook his head.

"No, not a bubble wrap thing, more a 'don't waste your appetite on the ice cream when there is a pie you spent the afternoon baking'" he replied simply standing in front of her, his hips resting against her knees and his hands on the counter on either side of her legs. His eyes skimmed over her stomach again like it had so many times tonight.

"Touch it" she whispered, he looked at her a little unsure. Giving him a reassuring smile she carefully took his hand and placed it on her stomach, her eyes on his face the whole time, watching his every reaction. "I can't feel much yet but well, it's still making itself known" she explained with a smile as she watched Dean's lip twist to a slight smile as his hand rested on her stomach with her hand over his.

Letting out a contented sigh she placed her hand back on the counter, looking at Dean's hand on her stomach for a little while longer before it went to rest back on the counter beside her own. When she looked back up Dean's sweet green eyes were gazing deep into her own. Swallowing hard, she took a shaky breath, he was so close, now standing between her legs, they were almost nose to nose.

She could feel his warm breath gently against her, as he could hers. His eyes searched hers before dropping to her lips then returning, almost asking permission without a word. Ashley's eyes didn't move from Dean's though she slid hand slightly on the counter until she was touching his and he leant in, lips lingering so close, centimetres from each other, only growing closer with each breath.


	10. The Screen Fades To Black

Lips lingering so close, centimetres from each other, only growing closer with each breath…

*BEEP* *BEEP* *BEEP*

The microwave went off, making Ashley jump slightly and plummet back to reality, looking at the microwave she took a breath, realizing she had been holding hers. "Pie?" she asked biting her lip as she looked back to Dean who had stepped back slightly.

"Of course" he replied with a chuckle, shaking his head slightly, that was the second time he'd tried making a move only to be interrupted though it seemed to be just moments they got caught in where making a move just seemed right, it wasn't something that happened all the time.

Ashley's heart was still pounding in her chest as she slid off the counter and grabbed the pie from the microwave. Her mind was reeling from the almost-kiss as she cut and served each slice with a spoonful of ice cream. She got the feeling this wasn't going to be talked about, it was just something that happened, for a second time and was going to slide by the wayside untended to.

She handed Dean a large slice of pie, leaning back on the counter before running her tongue along her teeth. "I'll admit… I was surprised you figured it out… I only spoke about here once…" she commented watching him for a moment as he took a bite and seemed surprised by how good it was.

"What? I pay attention… sometimes" he smirked and took another bite and shrugged. "Honestly, I just drove and ended up in St. Louis before I figured out where I was actually going…" he enlightened her simply.

Ashley nodded slowly, she didn't want to interrogate him or anything but these were a few things she'd been thinking about. "You followed pretty quickly, huh? I mean, assuming you called me pretty soon after getting into Savannah… you would have only just gotten back when you left again…" she whispered, calculating it to herself, though aloud so he could hear.

The only reply Dean gave for her calculation was a shrug that said 'pretty much'. "Everyone deals with things differently, I drive…" he explained.

Nodding again she asked the question she really wanted to know the answer to more than when he had left, "How long you staying?" she asked, she hadn't touched her piece of pie yet, she was instead chewing her thumbnail slightly.

Again, Dean shrugged, "Depends really… how long are you staying and how long til you get sick of me?" he replied smirking as he finished the pie in record time before giving the plate a quick wash in the sink.

"Domesticated… nice" she commented smirking at him washing his plate before shaking her head and shrugging. "I don't know… and… again, I don't know… I don't suppose you would head back to Dad's if I were to get sick of you?" she asked though she had a feeling she knew the answer.

He shook his head smirking, "Would you rather I left it?" he chuckled. "Nope, there are a couple of motels around, I'm sure I'd find a place for a while… because having you twenty-four hours away from anyone that could help you, isn't appealing" he shook his head, now a little more serious.

"No, by all means, clean away" she chuckled and waved him to continue. She nodded slowly, contemplating her thoughts, what she wanted to do, "I do hate that it's so far from dad… but Dean… I'm not living with him when I have this baby… as much as I love him I don't need him telling me how to do this…" she sighed and frowned slightly at the frown that was slowly crossing his face.

"Are you saying you might not be coming back?" he asked slowly, a little surprised but confused at the same time, why would she want to be so far away from the people who care?

Ashley just looked at Dean, speaking deliberately, "I never said that…" she sighed. She didn't really like having to voice her thoughts so often, it was usually something she kept to herself until they had fully developed and ready to action but Dean seemed to keep pulling them out of the oven half-baked.

"I'm just saying… I love this house, I do… however, there is no way I'm having a kid here or this impending new life… so you don't need to worry about that…" she shrugged slightly and could see Dean visibly relax knowing she wasn't going to be staying so far from her dad though he did wonder where she planned to live with their child.

"There are too many sour memories but it's my house and that's what I want, my own place because do you really think dad's place is even close to child safe?" she asked with an eyebrow raised, trying to pin together each of her thoughts and make sense.

Dean thought about it for a moment and frowned deeply, thinking about the knives that just sat around and the probably poisonous herbs and ingredients then the jars of blood and such, sure it could be cleaned up but with hunting he knew it would end up the same again. He shook his head slowly, trying to figure out what it was Ashley wasn't saying.

"I haven't made any decisions yet… honestly it's not easy to make all these decisions by myself…" she sighed and shook her head slightly, suddenly everything was beginning to pile in her mind, everything that she had to do before this baby arrived. "Dean, there's so much to do and such limited time" she whispered, letting her worries out.

Dean frowned, "I guess there is, but I mean… you have me… and Sam and your dad… between the four of us I am sure we can make it work" he tried to reassure her. "Come on, eat your pie then get some sleep, it's getting late and I'm sure things will look brighter in the morning" he nodded, smiling because he felt like maybe he'd said the right thing this time.

Ashley laughed slightly, "That's because the sun will be out, Dean" she replied and shook her head before looking at the pie. "I don't want it…" she frowned and shook her head with a sigh before handing it to Dean who happily obliged in eating it.

She watched him repeat the same process as he had done previously, smiling as she did. "I'm going to turn in, there's a spare room across from the bathroom, my room is at the end of the hall" she nodded before stepping forward and giving Dean a hug. "Thanks for driving out to see me" she whispered before the hug ended and she sauntered away to her room.

Dean sighed, heading out to his car to grab his duffle bag, he was thinking about Ashley's words, _it's not easy to make all these decisions by myself_ was she asking for help or just stating it wasn't easy? He was realizing with Ashley there was a very fine line you had to walk before you were either suffocating her or she wanted you closer.

He did a quick salt line check before heading to bed, thinking of the decisions that Ashley might have to make that maybe he could be a part of… that she wouldn't mind letting him be a part of anyway.

The next week had passed rather quickly, it was amazing how fast they had fallen into a routine of breakfast, a daily discussion on decision making then lunchtime and the afternoon were spent out shopping or home talking to real estate agents and moving crews followed by dinner, Dr Sexy MD then bed.

Ashley had called her father and Sam to let them know she was doing okay but that's about all she let on, she didn't want them pressuring her into decisions she could make for herself. Dean was being helpful rather than restricting which was nice and actually made it a lot easier to be around him.

It was obvious they were still being a little careful around each other, after the near-kiss but all in all they were able to be pretty natural and overall happy to be in each other's company.

There'd been a few people come by to take a look at the house and it even looked like one of them might be buying it which was much of a relief to Ashley though nothing was certain yet. She was also searching around for a house closer to her father where she would be able to get a quick settlement and get into it ASAP.

Ashley sat packing a box in her room, thinking to herself, everything was going so quickly but she was happy with the progress of it all. She wanted to move out even though the house hadn't been sold yet and even though she hadn't settled a new house, she was going to keep her things in one of her father's storage sheds until she moved in.

She stood up and rubbed her stomach it was feeling a little unsettled as she looked around at her now packed room, save for the bed. "Time to make some lunch for your daddy I think" she mused to her stomach as she headed to the kitchen, she stopped and gasped slightly.

"Dean… Dean!" she called, both hands now on her stomach, her eyes wide with amazement and a slight smile on her lips.

Dean came running from outside where he had been fitting what he could in his car, the important things anyway. "What? What's wrong?" he asked worried, assuming she had called him because something had happened and something had happened but it was no cause for worry.

"The baby just kicked, come here!" she laughed as she pulled on his hand and placed it on her stomach again, laughing each time she felt a kick. It was an amazing feeling, the first feeling their baby kick, making itself known.

Dean looked at Ashley with a wide smile as his hand rested on her stomach until the baby stopped the kicking, both of them were laughing. "Gosh, if that's any indication of what's to come…" she shook her head and looked at her stomach, "Just thought you might want to feel that…" she whispered happily.

"Thank you" Dean whispered and sighed, wow, this was, wow. His first interaction with the baby and it was taking him a lot not to get mushy.

Ashley smiled and shook her head at Dean's reaction, "Just have the kitchen to go and then this house is packed and ready for the movers tomorrow" she nodded as she headed into the kitchen and started making sandwiches.

"You know where you're going to get a place yet?" Dean asked with a slight interest as he watched Ashley gliding around the kitchen with grace.

She shrugged, "I'm thinking Sioux City… close enough to dad without being in the same town" she explained, leaving out that she pretty much had her mind set on one house, she just wanted to do one thing before deciding for sure. She finished up the sandwiches and they sat down on the porch stairs to eat.

"Hey Dean… when we get back, um, would you come with me to check out a house I've been looking at?" she asked quietly, knowing that once they got back he'd probably get back into hunting and there wouldn't be a block of time for them to spend together like they had this week.

"Yeah, sure" Dean nodded with a smile before frowning slightly, standing as a car rolled into the driveway.

Ashley jumped up quickly, knowing exactly who it was and she really didn't want to face him right now. Out of the car stood a tall, dark haired guy, he was good looking, a bit of a pretty boy but it was obvious he was pretty smug too. He took off his Ray-Bans and whistled at the Impala as he passed it on his way to stand in front of the porch.

"Nice car, she yours?" he asked Dean with an eyebrow raised, obviously sizing him up.

Dean took little notice as he too sized up the guy in front of him, "Yeah, she's mine" he replied and though they were talking about cars, the guy's eyes had been on Ashley, who was standing predominately behind Dean, hiding her stomach somewhat.

With a breath she stepped forward, frowning, "Blaine, what are you doing here?" she asked slightly icily, remember the last time she had seen him that had led to the crazy drive and bar dive where she had met Dean.

"Wasn't even sure you'd be here, Shelly, was just checking out the place… thought you went AWOL and went running to daddy?" Blaine replied with a venomous tongue though he made his words seem so sweet, it made Ashley want to be sick. Dean was confused, _Shelly_?

"Don't call me that" Ashley spat bitterly, shaking her head with her arms crossed, "You haven't been welcome here a long time…" she frowned, watching as Blaine's eyes tried hard to penetrate her own. Once his eyes had made her melt so easily but now, it just made her feel disgusting having him look at her.

"You moving out?" he asked noticing the boxes and ignoring Ashley's bitter comments. "Didn't think you'd ever move in with daddy… or are you moving in with… this… rebound?" he asked, his voice growing more bitter though his eyes were now on her stomach with a frown he looked at her.

"Yeah, I'm moving out, you turned this place vile when you brought… you know what you did" she shook her head and let out a slow breath, surprised she wasn't more affected by his presence. "What I am doing is none of your business… and don't frown at me, it's not yours so you can go now…" she shook her head, both hands protectively on her stomach.

"Shelly, Shelly, Shelly… I'd rather stay" he smirked watching closely until Dean stepped forward.

"Ashley wants you to leave, I suggest you do" Dean spoke calmly though he wouldn't hesitate to take the guy down if he needed to.

Blaine laughed and shook his head, "Okay, okay, I'm going… but be warned… you haven't seen the last of me" he chuckled and put his Ray-Bans back on as he returned to his car and sped away.

"Your ex is a pretty boy asshole" Dean commented, watching the car drive out before turning to Ashley with a slight frown and raised eyebrow.

"Yes, yes he is… what's more is I actually fell for that…" she shook her head and stuck her finger in her mouth gesturing it made her sick. "I didn't think I'd see him again to be honest…" she sighed before looking at Dean, giving him a slight smile.

"Are all your exes pretty boy assholes or just that one?" he asked with a chuckle though it was a serious question, he was actually curious in the answer.

Ashley shrugged, "I guess so… they're all charming and nice to start and then they have a major flaw…" she tried explaining but it sounded vain so she gave up and sighed. "Oh and I have a doctor's appointment booked for the afternoon we get back… if you're interested in being there" she spoke quietly as she walked back inside.

Thinking back it was true, all of Ashley's exes were the same, they were all pretty boys, pop star or model looks, generally the same personalities and in the end something always made her run whether it turned out he had an odd kinky fetish, mother issues, was gay or cheated on her, they never lasted. She could safely say that she was glad Dean wasn't like that, not that they were together but if her child happened to turn out like that she'd go insane.

Dean watched Ashley go back inside and sighed as he sat back down, looking to where Blaine's car had been. How was it that this girl was able to make him feel so insecure about things so often? Maybe their chemistry was based on the alcohol if _that_ was her type.

The routine continued the same as it had the past week until the next morning. Dean was helping the movers load up the truck while Ashley cleaned the fridge out of food into a cooler that they could take with them for the drive. She was hoping this time it wouldn't be as boring because she'd be with Dean. They were leaving her car in a storage garage nearby until they were able to get it back to Bobby's.

"That's the last of it" Dean nodded and they closed the truck, he waved the drivers off before heading inside to help carry the cooler. Instead he found Ashley smiling as she looked around, tears rimming her eyes.

"The end of an era" she whispered and shook her head, "Come on, let's get going, it's a long drive" she nodded as she picked up the cooler and headed out, with much displeasure from Dean.

Just as Ashley had thought, the drive was much faster and easier with company and before they knew it they were in St. Louis again for the midway stop over. They sat in a booth at a small diner to have dinner, both had cheeseburgers and the conversation was fairly light, it had become so easy between the two of them and Ashley was so thankful for the time they had alone to get to know each other.

When they got to the motel Dean opened the door and frowned, "She said this was a double…" he commented and Ashley stared at the bed in the centre of the room.

Shrugging she walked in, "I don't care, I'm tired…" she yawned and flopped on the bed, much to Dean's amusement. He closed the door with a chuckle and put the bags down.

"I'm going for a quick shower" Dean commented and headed into the bathroom. When he returned Ashley had fallen asleep and looked rather peaceful. He went through the motions of proofing the room before turning off the lights and sliding in carefully beside her. Letting out a breath he closed his eyes and sleep was quick.

"Dean… Dean" he heard a whisper and he was being shaken slightly. His eyes opened to see Ashley looking pretty worried, he frowned and sat up. "I heard something… and it didn't sound… normal" she frowned as she hugged her legs.

Dean frowned as he hoped out of bed, "I'll check it out" he nodded as he grabbed a pistol from his bag and headed out cautiously.

Ashley looked at him, even though it had been so long she remembered that body and how it could work and oh how well it worked. She sat waiting for a moment before hearing a loud bang, like something heavy hitting wood. She knew she shouldn't but she got up quickly and headed out, with a bat.

She headed the same direction as Dean slowly frowning when she found him, unconscious inside the next door motel room, having been thrown against the wall. The sound of the door slamming echoed through the room from behind her. With a gasp she turned around quickly then everything went black.


	11. A Paradox Of Predestination Part One

Ashley woke with a slight stretch and a yawn, snuggling closer into the body beside her, closer to the warmth. She had an arm around her and the light was only soft through the window. It was peaceful and she was feeling good. Stretching once more she sat up, the decent diamond adorning her finger caught in the sun making her smile before she got out of bed, "Morning" she smiled heading into the bathroom.

"I had the weirdest dream, you would not even believe" she laughed and shook her head as she brushed her teeth. Spitting she smiled at the reflection behind her in the mirror and he smiled back, coming up behind her and wrapping his arms around her waist.

"Morning" he smiled and kissed her neck before getting himself into the shower. "What was the dream about?" he asked as the water began running.

"Well for starters I was pregnant" Ashley laughed at the thought, shaking her head before glancing at her slim physique as she began doing her hair. "But that's all I really remember though" she shook her head with a frown. She applied some makeup quickly and headed to the wardrobe, they had to be at the airport in a couple of hours for their flight.

"Blaine… you'd never cheat on me, right?" she asked, feeling a little insecure suddenly, she would never normally ask but she got an overwhelming sinking feeling in her stomach.

"Of course not, babe, why would you even think that?" Blaine called from the shower as he stepped out and wrapped a towel low on his hips and one on his hair then joined Ashley in the wardrobe.

Ashley looked at him with a smile as he entered, it was a sight she had seen many a time and though the thrill she used to get from seeing him dripping wet and semi-naked was gone, she was still able to appreciate he had a nice body. "I don't know, I just needed to hear that you wouldn't" she replied quietly as she pulled on tight jeans and a nice top.

"You could probably try a little harder you know, I mean, we are going to see your father and tell him the news…" Blaine commented, looking at her outfit, shaking his head slightly as he kissed her head and dressed himself in what looked like designer clothes until he looked like a freaking model.

Ashley sighed and shook her own head, exchanging her jeans for a pair of formal black slacks. It did sometimes annoy her that he was so fashion conscious and generally put her down for her style but the good did outweigh the bad like when he would bring her a dozen roses or sit through her favourite TV show even though he hated it or when he'd just hold her for no reason other than to feel her warmth.

She smiled at the thought as she grabbed her pre-packed overnight bag and headed out to her car, she was always ready before Blaine, he was very looks obsessed sometimes. Finally Blaine came out, looking a million dollars with his bag over his shoulder, "You ready to go there, Mr Movie-star?" she asked with an eyebrow raised, shaking her head.

Blaine nodded, ignoring the sarcasm in Ashley's voice, "Whenever you are, babe" he replied putting on his glasses, leaving Ashley to go back and lock up the house, she quickly checked salt lines, covertly so Blaine wouldn't question her.

Even though they were set to be getting married, hunting was the one secret Ashley kept from Blaine, he didn't need to know about it and she had, for the most part, given it up after he moved in.

They reached Hilton Head International and Blaine headed straight to the bathroom to check his hair, mumbling profanities about Ashley having the window open a crack while she was driving. She rolled her eyes, this was going to be a fun trip.

Grabbing out her phone she decided to give her father a quick call, "Hey Daddy, yeah we're at the airport now… I know we could have driven but you know Blaine wouldn't sit that long" she shook her head with a sigh. "Yeah the flight is in about an hour… so I'll see you in about an six and a half?" she smiled listening to her father talk about how he was looking forward to it and how he missed her so. "Okay, I better go now dad, love you" she sighed and hung up seeing Blaine return.

He came straight for her, pressing a kiss to her lips before sighing, "I am sorry for getting upset… I'm just nervous about this whole thing with your dad is all" he explained and shook his head before grabbing out both of their bags. "Love you" he whispered before covering her face in many little kisses, making her giggle and try to hide.

"Love you too but we'd better get in there or they'll close check in" Ashley reasoned and took his hand, leading them both in. It often left Ashley bemused how quickly Blaine's attitude and demeanour could change.

They sat in the waiting lounge, with each passing minute Ashley's nerves about going back to see her father got worse until she was practically frozen still. Parts of the dream, just out of reach, played in the back of her mind but she was unable to grasp anything but haziness. Blaine was sitting calmly with a gin and tonic, letting Ashley squeeze his hand.

"Calm down babe, there's nothing to worry about" he shook his head and took another drink, swirling it in his mouth before looking at Ashley. "Come on, you're not scared of flying, so what is it?" he asked with a frown.

Ashley shook her head, "I don't know, it's nothing…" she sighed and looked at Blaine, giving him a smile. What she really wanted to say was: you really aren't going to fit in where we're going. She had never really thought about it but Blaine was a pretty boy and he really wasn't going to fit in with the dark and dirty hunter's life that her father had built and she had grown up in.

Their flight was called and Ashley stood quickly while Blaine was slow to stand, still holding her hand as he put his drink down then walked with her to the plane. Finding their seats Blaine frowned, he was stuck in the aisle seat.

"Hey Shelly, babe, could we swap spots… I got the aisle seat and you know, my elbows stick out further than yours…" he asked as he took the seat that was supposed to be hers anyway.

Ashley just smiled and shrugged as she sat down and soon enough they were in the sky. Blaine was right, his arms did stick out, he had the whole armrest that sat between them. She stuck to the opposite side and laid back trying to get some sleep like Blaine had seemed to get so easily, the minute she felt close to sleep a cart hit her elbow, making her curse and hold it closely. She was definitely looking forward to the stopover in Chicago already.

When they finally touched down in South Dakota, Ashley took a deep breath, she was looking forward to seeing her dad again but she also wanted to turn around and go straight back home. She bustled out with her bag and Blaine close behind her, getting ready to head to the taxi rank she stopped dead seeing her father, he had come to pick them up. That, she had not expected.

"Dad?" she asked with a frown as she walked over, her eyes were wide and she looked kind of worried about him being there. Blaine, of course, had disappeared to the bathroom in search of a mirror.

"Well, I was hoping for a hug, but you don't look so happy to see me…" Bobby frowned as he took his daughters bag and sat it on his lap.

Ashley shook her head and her face changed to a bright smile as she hugged her dad, trying to avoid tears, "I've missed you, so much" she whispered, holding him close before she sighed and stood back up. "So, you got the car fixed up so you can drive it then?" she asked, considering he had gotten there.

"I missed you too, baby girl" he sighed as he let his daughter go and nodded. "Yep, got her all fixed up, so even without my damn legs I can still drive around" he smiled before looking around and frowning. "So, where is this boyfriend of yours?" he asked as he looked around for the guy Ashley said she'd be coming with.

"Fixing his hair" she replied, wishing she was joking. The look on her father's face made her laugh and before long the two of them were in hysterics.

"Can I ask what's got you guys cracking up?" Blaine asked as he returned, directing his question at Ashley who took a breath an managed to pull herself together before shaking her head.

"Nothing babe, just an inside joke… Dad, this is Blaine… Blaine this is my father, Bobby" she introduced, having to bite her tongue to stop from laughing again, just looking at Blaine and her father, such contrast.

"Mr Singer, it's great to finally meet you" Blaine smiled and shook Bobby's hand with a less than firm grip, while Bobby was scared to break the poor guys hand in the process.

"Nice to meet you too, err, Blaine" Bobby nodded before leading them out to where he had parked his car in short-term parking.

Bobby could hardly believe the guy his daughter was bringing home to him, the guy was a pretty boy who seemed very used to a cushioned, white lily lifestyle which is close to a polar opposite from Ashley but he was trying hard not to judge. He was just glad she hadn't brought another hunter home to him, at least this way she might be able to get out of the life and be away from the danger of it.

"Have you told him?" Blaine asked quietly as the pair walked a pace behind Bobby, though he was being quiet enough that he could hear the whispers and they were making him somewhat curious.

Ashley shook her head, "Later, Blaine, you don't just put that on someone the minute you see them" she rolled her eyes and continued following her father, moving to walking beside him.

Bobby frowned, he glanced at Ashley with a slight smile, if she was pregnant boy was he going to kill her. She didn't look it but that didn't mean anything, it was better he didn't assume anything and just wait until they told him what was going on but it didn't stop his mind going rampant.

"What's been going on lately, daddy?" Ashley asked starting conversation as Blaine came to walk on the opposite side of her, obviously a little upset she had just moved away from him, even if it was for her father.

"Just the… usual" Bobby replied, being careful what he divulged around pretty boy, getting the feeling Ashley hadn't even told him about the life she had once been a part of. "Oh, I hope you don't mind, I got a call from a couple 'a old friends of mine, they'll be dropping by tomorrow and might stay a night or two between… jobs" he let her know with a smile.

Ashley raised an eyebrow, "You have friends? Wow dad, why have I not heard about this before?" she asked sarcastically with a slight laugh, though she had never remembered meeting any of her father's friends, through him anyway, she had many a time run into another hunter who had recognised her last name but whenever he used to have friends over she would be staying with someone and away from the action or she would be out in the action.

Bobby chuckled, "Smart ass… but no, these boys are like the sons I never had, so try and get along, okay?" he shook his head with a sigh, getting the feeling that she would buttheads with at least one of the boys and he was betting he knew who it would be too.

Ashley laughed, "Don't worry, daddy, I'll play nice and so will Blaine, right babe?" she looked to Blaine who had been paying absolutely no attention whatsoever. Ashley sighed and shook her head, not bothering to try and get him to answer as they reached the car.

As they drove up the drive into _Singer's Salvage Yard,_ Ashley was overcome with memories of the place, it had been so long since she had been there and seeing the old house and piles of cars made her happy to be home, like she had been homesick without realizing it. After Bobby parked, Ashley helped him out of the car and into his wheelchair.

"You cleaned up… right?" she asked glancing at Blaine, really wanting to keep him from her other life. She knew how he'd react, he'd tell her she was crazy and she'd probably never see him again, she didn't want that, she really didn't want that, not now they were set to be married and have a life together.

"Of course! I didn't think you woulda told him and now I can see why…" he replied with a slight mumble toward the end that made Ashley frown, he didn't mean to seem so disapproving but really, this guy? He would probably never approve of any guy Ashley went for but she could do so much better!

"Dad…" Ashley whispered, the word came out filled with so many things, she was hurt by her dad's disapproval but at the same time she understood it. It upset her enough that she couldn't be everything she was in front of her fiancé but it wasn't her anymore, so it shouldn't matter.

The trio headed inside and Ashley started dinner since it was just about time to eat anyway. She listened intently to the conversation her father was having with Blaine and she could tell it was obviously very one sided, Blaine was talking about some modelling company, why couldn't he just talk about cars? He liked cars, they both did, they were in a car yard!

After dinner there was some more mindless chat before Ashley and Blaine headed up to bed, exhausted from the day of travel. Blaine seemed a little cold and Ashley was a little concerned to try and approach the subject but she decided it was best to and with caution.

"Babe, what's wrong?" she asked while he had his back to her on the other side of the room, like he had been avoiding being near her the whole time that they had been in the bedroom together.

"Why haven't you told him?" Blaine asked bluntly as he turned to look at Ashley who stood slightly dumbfounded.

"Are you serious? That's what you're upset about?" she asked with a frown, was he seriously trying to pressure her to tell her father?

"Yes, I am serious, why haven't you told your father we're getting married? Do you not want him to know? That's the whole reason we're on this stupid trip!" he snapped, pushing the discussion into heated argument territory very quickly.

"Of course I want him to know or we wouldn't be on this trip! But I need to tell him in my own time, don't pressure me into it!" Ashley replied in the same heated manner, neither were shouting loud enough to be heard outside the room but it was loud enough. "If this is how you're going to be, I am staying in the other room tonight" she shook her head and slammed the door as she headed across the hall into what had once been her toy room.

Ashley was up before Blaine the next morning, waking to the smell of bacon and eggs that her father was cooking up. She showered and dressed before going down to see her father. "Morning Daddy" Ashley smiled as she grabbed some orange juice from the fridge.

"Morning, baby girl… everything all good? There was a bit of door slamming last night…" he asked with slight frown, hating that the pretty boy may very well have upset his daughter. She deserved better than whatever bullshit he was giving her.

"Yeah, everything's fine… just a stupid petty argument" she shook her head with a sigh as she sculled the juice pretty quickly. "Smells good" she smiled as she sat up on the bench, near her father and the cooking food.

"Do you want to wake up the pretty boy for breakfast?" he asked with an eyebrow raised as he served up two plates, there were a few extras and he wanted to know if they were being put aside.

Ashley shook her head, "Leave him in his 'beauty' sleep… he wouldn't eat this anyway, too fatty apparently" she shook her head and took a piece of bacon with a smile before there was a knock at the door.

She watched her father roll to the door, still sitting on the bench and picking at her bacon, interested as to who these boys her father had mentioned were. She heard the greetings and pleasantries they shared before "Come meet my daughter" he smiled before they entered the kitchen.

"Bobby you never told us you had a daughter" she heard one of the men state. There was a slight rush of déjà vu but she shook it off. Her father had promised her that he would never tell anyone of her existence for her safety and by the sound of it he hadn't.

Ashley hopped off the bench as her father introduced her, "This is my daughter, Ashley Karen Singer… Ash, this is Sam Winchester" Bobby introduced, giving them a moment to shake hands which they did. This guy seemed familiar, odd.

"Nice to… I feel like I should say see you again… is that weird or what?" she laughed and shook her head as she shook his head, trying to place him. "Did we go to school together or something?" she asked with a frown. "Sam, Sam, Sam… little Sammy Winchester! I remember you!" she laughed and gave him a hug before her father continued the introductions.

"And this idjit here is his older brother, Dean" Bobby introduced with a nod, watching Dean carefully before rolling his way back into the kitchen for his breakfast.

"Nice to meet you, Dean…" she smiled and shook her head before taking her hand back quickly, unsure why but she managed to cover up by smelling her hand. She began laughing when she could smell cherry pie strongly. "Cherry pie?" she asked and shook her head before heading into the kitchen for her breakfast.

Dean sat down across from Ashley at the table and their eyes caught for a moment, like there was a split second of recognition but as fast as it came, it was gone and she went back to eating, ignoring it and passing it off as weird.


	12. A Paradox Of Predestination Part Two

Footfalls on the stairs broke everyone away from their conversations, each for entirely different reasons.

Ashley went quiet, but didn't look up from her food, hoping her estranged fiancé had gotten some sleep and wasn't going to be such an ass this morning. She couldn't believe he had been so blatantly insensitive.

Bobby looked to Ashley slightly, seeing she was still so quiet saddened him, he hated seeing his little girl upset, let alone at the hands of any _boy_.

"Who's that?" Dean asked with a frown looking to Bobby, his hand at the ready, sitting steady on the gun holstered at his waist.

"I would be Blaine, Ashley's fiancé… and you are?" Blaine spoke proper-like, obviously looking down his nose at the guests in the house. In his mind he was better than them, his looks and dress sense being the determining factor.

"Fiancé?" Bobby asked with a frown, looking to his jaw dropped daughter whose eyes were pinned on Blaine. If looks could kill he would have died three times over by now.

Hands in tight fists Ashley looked to her father, glancing past the other boys at the table. "That's what we had come here to tell you… _together!_" she tried to explain, emphasizing 'together' as her eyes again darted to Blaine who was raiding the fridge.

Bobby sat looking rather stunned, he didn't like the news but he didn't want to upset his daughter, if this is really what she wanted then he would support her, but he didn't have to like it.

The silence drew long before Sam finally broke it with an awkward clearing of his throat. "Well, congratulations! Have you set a date?" he asked as Dean stood up and moved over to the guy.

"Dean Winchester" he held his hand out in a gesture of politeness, all the while sizing up Blaine, continuing their conversation as if no one had spoken between them. Blaine stood facing Dean, staring at his hand.

It was quite a sight to see, the two men, both bold and confident in themselves and yet so vastly different. Blaine stood a good inch above Dean, but that was about the only thing he had that could be seen as an advantage. Dean was broader, more muscular and had rugged good looks that gave him a mix of sexy and cute with just a smile. Blaine had muscle but it was toning, nothing more.

Ashley stared between the pair, not wanting to talk about this engagement right now, she wanted to talk about it in her own time on her own terms. "No, we haven't set a date" she mumbled looking at Blaine who finally looked back at her words.

"Actually, we're getting married on January seventeenth" Blaine amended in a serious tone to which Ashley stood, looking him straight in the eyes.

"No, we're not" she spoke sternly before walking out, slamming the door behind her, leaving four sets of eyes glued to the door.

"More bacon, anyone?" Bobby asked with a lump in his throat after a good couple of tension filled minutes, only to be greeted by more tension. He sighed and began heading for the door.

"Wait, I'll go" Sam offered as he hopped up, both wanting to get away from the odd unnecessary testosterone filled faceoff between his brother and Blaine, and wanting to catch up with Ashley again. No one stopped him as he left with an unparalleled speed.

Blaine's jaw tightened as he looked at Dean again, his eye twitched and he had to take a deep breath before wordlessly turning and leaving the room again. He kept composure but made enough of a fuss in small gestures for Dean to notice it as odd, like there was some rivalry between them Dean himself didn't understand.

"Ash?" Sam called as he walked through the car yard before stopping to look around. There were far too many cars for him to search them all, luckily for him Ashley caved and opened the door to the junk car she was in.

"What Sam? Now's not really a good time…" she replied, sniffling slightly. She rested her head back against the seat as Sam got into the passenger seat beside her. Closing the door he looked at her and frowned.

"You're not going to leave are you?" she whispered with a slight chuckle, shaking her head as she wiped her eyes and looked at him. "Look, we're just going through a rough patch… I'm sure it'll pick up…" she nodded forcing a smile which Sam didn't buy at all.

"Does he know about what happened on the seventeenth?" he asked with a frown, remembering Bobby had mentioned the date awhile back, he knew it had to have fuelled Ashley walking out.

She nodded slowly and sighed, "Yep, he wants to make it a happy date… as if he can just replace my mother's death by marrying me on the day" she shook her head and shuddered. "Sometimes he just… doesn't get it… or he does and doesn't care, I don't know" she whispered.

Sam was usually pretty good with words but he didn't know the guy, he didn't know his motives or what he was like so all he could really do was give Ashley a hug and give her stock comfort lines. "I'm sure it's not like that, he just wants to make you feel better" he tried but didn't believe it himself, there was something about Blaine he didn't like, but he couldn't put his finger on it.

Ashley sighed, "You don't like him either?" she asked with a frown as she pulled away slightly. "Neither does dad and your brother looked like he was going to hit him… what the hell was that about? Does he do it often?" she asked a little confused, but before Sam was able to answer they were interrupted.

"Ash! Sam! Come back inside… it's cold!" Bobby called, but it was his way of telling them that Blaine had retreated and was out of the way for now.

Sam smiled at Ashley, who managed to smile back before he got out of the car and ran around to her side and opened the door for her, "Come on, let's get back to breakfast, hopefully Dean hasn't eaten it all" they both laughed.

Once they got back inside, Bobby brought up something about case research and took Sam to his office to show him some new breakthrough, leaving Ashley and Dean sitting and eating together.

"So… your boyfriend, fiancé thing is a bit of an ass" Dean spoke out of nowhere and even though both of them knew he had no right to say it Ashley laughed.

"I know" she replied and shook her head, before she realized the direction this conversation could head, to the questions she herself couldn't even answer at the moment.

"Ah so you're an ass woman" Dean retorted jokingly with a wink, to Ashley's surprise, he was playing it light and she was glad, she didn't want deep conversation.

Laughing again she shook her head, "Looks like… though that's not usually what I look for in a guy" she commented the paused slightly, looking from her food to Dean, his eyes were already on her. Her heart jumped slightly, was she flirting?

"Then what is it that you look for?" he asked, his voice rough and deep before he cleared his throat. He kept his eyes on hers, like they were playing a game of chicken, he knew he was pushing it with his question but she didn't seem to be shutting down, she was still staring back.

"Well… anatomically…" she spoke before smirking slightly, pausing for effect and looking back down to her food, taking her last piece of bacon. Yep, she was flirting and she kind of liked it. "You have nice eyes" she spoke out of nowhere and gave him a sweet smile before standing up and taking his plate to clean.

Dean watched the woman who had been able to turn from sexy to sweet, in a matter of breaths. He had a slight smile on his face but sat back and looked out the window in thought.

The day slipped into the night and Bobby had retired to his room while the Winchesters and Ashley stayed out at the dining table drinking beer and generally chatting. Ashley had been smiling for most of the day since her short talk with Sam in the car, it had been a long time since she had anyone other than Blaine to talk to.

The three were talking about hunting, the boys recent hunts and how Ashley had stepped out of the life until they heard footsteps again and Ashley signalled with the shake of her head that Blaine didn't know about that side of her life.

Blaine stood and stared at the three sitting at the table for a moment before walking over with a slight smile and kissing Ashley's head. "You coming to bed anytime soon, Shelly?" he asked quietly but she shook her head and smiled at him sweetly.

"The boys are leaving tomorrow, so I just wanted to spend some time getting to know them before the chance is gone" she explained with a shrug, seeming nonchalant to her anger at him.

Blaine nodded slowly, "Well, in the case… who's up for poker?" he asked as he pulled a deck of cards out of his back pocket and took a seat. He suddenly seemed like a nice social guy but Ashley was sceptical.

"Beers?" she asked the boys as she got up and got the next round and her dad's playing chips before the game started. Ashley sat out of the game but watched intently, wondering what this was about. After a while Sam was out and watching with Ashley. Dean had the upper hand, holding a few hundred more in chips.

The game was getting intense and the drinks were almost gone, Ashley was a little past tipsy and leaning on Sam as she watched. Dean went all in and Blaine had to as well, so sure he would win.

"Hey, I'm your all in plus a few hundred, you gotta sweeten the deal" Dean shook his head, not satisfied with the possible gain on the table.

"I'm going to win anyway and it won't matter" Blaine shook his head, cocky as ever but Dean wasn't letting him get away with it that easily. He sighed and looked around, "My watch?" he suggested with a shrug.

"Bet me…" Ashley spoke up before Dean was able to reply. Her thoughts were clear though the alcohol had given her the confidence to speak aloud. Blaine frowned at her, not sure what she was doing. "If you're so sure you're going to win, bet me… it's no gamble" she spoke looking at him innocently.

Blaine was unsure, he thought about it for a moment before looking up at Dean, seeing him looking at Ashley with a slight smirk and she was looking back with a slight blush but a smile on her face nonetheless. "Fine. I bet Shelly… prepare to lose Winchester" he shook his head and placed his cards down. "Four aces" he smiled looking at his cards.

Dean raised an eyebrow looking at his cards for a moment before placing them down, smirking, "Royal flush" he countered as he pulled the chips toward him, leaving Blaine jaw dropped and frowning.

"Wait, no… that can't be right…" Blaine mumbled to himself before looking at Ashley who looked only slightly surprised, like she had seen this as a possibility and accepted it already.

Sam looked shocked and almost mortified, "Dean…" he spoke quietly and seriously before looking at Blaine then Ashley. Dean ignored him as Ashley got up and walked over to him, looking at his cards as she did.

"Good job…" she whispered with a smile and patted his shoulder before giving him a slight kiss on the cheek. She giggled and shook her head as she did before yawning. "Good game guys, I say we call it a night" she nodded stretching slightly.

Blaine noticeably let out a breath of relief as he stood up, "I agree… good game, Dean… you're pretty good" he nodded and held out a hand for Dean to shake which he did as he stood up.

Sam stood quickly too, "Good idea, it's getting late… bed would be good, right Dean?" he prompted heavily, hoping Dean wouldn't try to take any kind of advantage of his 'win' though it was obvious that Ashley, in her current state, didn't mind if he did.

Dean nodded, "Yeah we gotta leave at some point tomorrow… but… I'll see you tomorrow" he spoke to Ashley and gave her a wink before nodding at Blaine.

"Night" Ashley smiled before Blaine looked at her and her smile dropped. He grabbed her hand and pulled her up to the room they were supposed to be sharing. As expected a heated argument began the minute the door was closed.

"'_Bet me'_…" Blaine mumbled mockingly, "You were trying to make a fool out of me!" he hissed in a whisper. "Do you want that asshole? Is that what this is about?" he asked getting angry and stepping toward her.

"You thought you were going to win… I believed you…" she whispered, no anger whatsoever, she was over his crap. "I'm sorry you got beaten by the better man" she mumbled and got changed into a singlet and short shorts to go to sleep in.

Blaine didn't say a word, instead he watched her in slight disbelief, she wasn't even trying to fight him, she just got into bed and looked at him. "I was serious when I said I was going to bed… Night Blaine" she shook her head and turned her back on him. Eventually he sighed and climbed in behind her.

Ashley closed her eyes and waited, the faint sound of Blaine's snoring filled the room and she knew he was asleep. With a relieved sigh she slid out of bed with extreme care to avoid waking Blaine.

With extreme stealth she snuck across the room and out the door. She let out the breath she had been holding as she pulled the door to, before heading down the stairs with the same caution. Turning into the kitchen she jumped slightly when she found Dean standing, the light of the window shining behind him, as he drank milk straight from the carton. His shirtless silhouette was enough to leave her mouth dry.

"Mind sharing?" she asked with an eyebrow raised, obviously taking him by surprise as he choked on the milk slightly, looking her up and down before handing it over.

"What happened to bed?" he asked with an eyebrow raised, looking to the stairs, as if he were expecting to see Blaine coming down to check on Ashley's every move or something.

"Been there, done that" she replied with a shrug and handed the milk back. "I had no plans on going to sleep… I just wanted him to be" she admitted with a shrug before heading to the lounge room.

Dean placed the milk back quickly and followed, this girl had him intrigued, "Why's that?" he asked, taking the bait she had handed him.

"Am I crazy?" she asked as she turned to him and looked him dead in the eye. He wanted to say he didn't know what she was talking about but he had a feeling he did; the familiarity between them, this weird and unexplainable connection that was there before they had even properly met. "Tell me I'm not the only one… if I am, I'll go back to bed and I won't mention it again…" she whispered, a little unsure of herself now.

Dean shook his head, "I get it… I couldn't tell you what it is… but I know what you're talking about" he replied with a slight frown, it was feeling like a chick-flick moment but he had a feeling this one wasn't avoidable.

Ashley closed her eyes and let out a slow breath. When she opened them again Dean was standing right in front of her, causing her to gasp the air back in.

She could feel the heat from his naked chest, radiating. The sound of his breathing, as well as hers, seemed so much louder than it really was. The look in his eyes was so intense she had to look away, instead deciding she would appreciate the fine sight that was his chest. She stood unmoving until his finger slid gently across her cheek before hooking under her chin.

The sound of footsteps against the wooden stairs echoed but the sound seemed so far away, there seemed no reason to pay any real attention to it. Without any more thought, Dean tipped her head up slightly and pressed his lips against hers. He kissed her gently, almost timidly, at first but it wasn't slow to build. There was a spark of passion and Ashley wrapped her arms around Dean's neck and he pulled her closer by the waist.

Everything around them seemed to be moving like heat above sand on a hot summer's day. As the kiss stretched and the intensity increased everything seemed to fade more than what seemed normal. Eventually they pulled away staring at each other, breathlessly, before Ashley frowned and looked around.

"What's going on?" she asked noticing that things seemed different, time had been stopped around them. She looked down at her stomach confused, it had grown. The echo of clapping filled the room before Ashley looked back up at Dean and at the same time everything came rushing back to them.

"Well, you found a way out it seems…" Blaine commented with a frown as he walked over to them, standing at a safe distance. "You just really don't want to be with me, huh Shelly?" he asked with a frown, feigning a hurt expression as he brought his hand to his heart.

"What are you?" Ashley asked with wide eyes, suddenly things were falling together and making sense.

"Ha" Blaine laughed, "It's about time you asked" he shook his head before walking over to her, playing with her hair between two fingers.

"Don't touch her" Dean growled through clenched teeth and Blaine laughed, stepping back with his hands held in surrender.

"Sweetheart, I am your worst nightmare… a demon of sorts" Blaine smirked at Ashley and shrugged. "Can't believe you didn't notice earlier… your dear Blaine wasn't always such an ass, was he?" he raised an eyebrow, though he knew the answer. He clicked his tongue, "And you call yourself a hunter?" he shook his head and chuckled.

Ashley thought about it then looked at him with wide doe eyes, she could almost pin point the exact day she had noticed the change, the day Blaine must have been possessed, how could she have been so ignorant and believe she was out of the life?

"Well… I've had my fun for now… hope I didn't leave you pair with too much of a headache…" he winked, "I'll see you round, Shelly… Winchester" he nodded looking between them before clicking.

The world spun and Ashley sat quickly with a gasp, grabbing her stomach as she woke on the floor of the motel room as Dean too woke with a gasp. "You okay?" he asked looking at her then her stomach, she nodded quickly.

"We got to get out of here"


End file.
